Estrada’s SONA: RP’s poor living in fear

Ousted President Joseph Estrada will depict "a people living in fear of their lives and the security of their children" when he delivers his "true state of the nation" address before opposition and various people’s organizations at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan today.

A spokesman for Partido ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) said Estrada may videotape his speech in his place of detention at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City, for showing later at Club Filipino.

President Arroyo will deliver her State of the Nation Address (SONA) before a joint session of Congress at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on Monday.

In his speech, Estrada is expected to talk about rising criminality and kidnappings, rampant smuggling, and widespread corruption and poverty nationwide.

"The true state of the nation is mirrored today in a people living in fear of their lives and the security of their children," read a part of Estrada’s SONA.

"The true state of the nation is found in an economy where business is at a standstill, where investors leave the country at an alarming rate ... it is also reflected in the disturbing incidence of denial of opportunities where an average of 367 workers lose their jobs everyday and where millions find their meager incomes unable to meet basic demands," it said.

Estrada says that Mrs. Arroyo has become hostage to powerful interests and that she "lives in fear of these powerful allies, seeking compromises to appease the outrage of the many" because of her declining popularity.

"Respectable surveys confirm not only a sense of drift, but also the widespread alienation of the people," read a part of Estrada’s speech. "Many of them, rich and poor alike, have expressed their desire to leave the country," he said.

Estrada accuses the Arroyo administration of bartering the "blood and sacrifice of the soldiers of our Republic to buy a shameful peace agreement" with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as the New People’s Army (NPA) gains strength in other parts of the country.

"Where is the promised morality in government and good governance?" read a part of Estrada’s speech. "Were they all swept together with Mrs. Arroyo’s paper boat?"

Estrada is also expected to say that political stability and an environment freed from criminality are necessary ingredients for the country’s economic growth.

"No economy can prosper in a political environment of widespread criminality and violence that thrive because of weak (government) response," read part of his speech.

Mrs. Arroyo’s SONA will be a "fantasy woven by a leader imposed on us without sovereign mandate," he adds.

No hope

Angelito Banayo, Estrada’s political adviser, said the pervasive crisis of leadership under Mrs. Arroyo has made people realize that there is no hope under her administration.

"Proof of this is the growing ranks of the opposition that now counts among its members, former allies and supporters of Mrs. Arroyo," he added.

Banayo said the People’s SONA is part of a series of activities the opposition has lined up to "address" critical issues now facing the country.

A two-day workshop on crafting the People’s Legislative Agenda would be held tomorrow, he added.

Aside from Estrada, also expected to speak at the opposition gathering are Senators Edgardo Angara, Panfilo Lacson and Gregorio Honasan, and former senator Juan Ponce Enrile.

Minority Leader Carlos Padilla and Rep. Didagen Dilangalen will lead the delegation from the House of Representatives.

Mrs. Arroyo’s former allies from the People’s Consultative Council and the leftist Sanlakas have also confirmed their participation.

Club Filipino is a stone’s throw away from Estrada’s residence at No. 1 Polk st. in Greenhills.