Introduction

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivered his 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA)
yesterday, July 22, 2019, at Batasan Pambansa at Quezon City. Supposedly, the SONA
should have begun at exactly 4:00 in the afternoon. But due to unfavorable weather
condition, the presidential chopper was not able to fly at the designated time and thus,
the SONA began at 5:15 in the afternoon which is more than an hour late as compared
to the original plotted schedule. As the father of the nation, President Duterte delivered
his SONA, highlighting the accomplishments of his administration for the past year and
proposing the changes that he would still want to pursue in the coming years.

The accomplishments of the past show that there is nothing that this nation could not
achieve for as long as there is an effort to do so. It reveals how much changes we have
had and how much we are still expecting to have in the future. Based on the SONA, one
thing that I realized is that it takes a village to build a better community. Hand in hand if
people from the government and laypeople will do a collaborative effort, nothing is
impossible. Together, we shall rise at the pedestal.

It can be remembered that during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, she
signed the Republic Act No. 9346, a law which specifically abolished the death penalty.
This is due to the belief then that for a society to be better, a more humane punishment
should be given to guilty criminals, regardless of the severity of the committed crime.

The applicability of the death penalty is evident in the current times as manifested by
different heinous crimes going on across the country. With the rape, killings, and other
inhumane crimes going in left and right, the present administration has realized that the
only way to solve these is through the reinstatement of the death penalty. This way,
plunderers and criminals who committed heinous crimes shall be punishable by death.
In my personal opinion, looking into the crime rate of other countries who are also
implementing the death penalty, there is a significant decrease in it. Hopefully, if the
same law shall be applied in our land, it would serve as an eye-opener to people that
committing such crime is not a joke and it is something that must be dealt with utmost
severity and punishment. Thus, creating a system built-in solid foundation of truth and
justice.

The need to reinforce the “delicate balancing act” about the West Philippine Sea is the
only solution that the government could come up with at the moment. President Duterte
emphasized that this will be possible if all matters concerning negotiation about the
natural resources of the country as well as territorial waters will be handled through
“peaceful way.” With the conflicts being experienced with the Chinese vessels trying to
establish their camp on our territories paired with the pressure given by the mass
people to protect our land to the government, the administration is in the middle of a
difficult situation.

If the country can fight with Canada because of the tons of trash that they threw in our
land and we can compel them to take back the trashes, it think it is also possible with
the Chinese case. It is our land and it is rightfully ours. Though I agree that peaceful talk
should be employed, I also strongly believe that we should manifest power and authority
over our land. If not, our silence may be seen as an act of acceptance. It is our land and
we should do all it takes to protect it against anyone.

The possible establishment of Department of Water Resources and a Water Regulatory

Commission is suggested by President Duterte. This is to come up with plans and
regulations to address the persisting issue of the water crisis. This is particularly true in
Metro Manila since the city is known for having water issues during the summer season.
Because of this shortage of water supply is prevented and better service is given to the
public. Just months ago, I can still recall the rotating water interruption in the entire
metropolitan. The scenes of fire truck trying to supply water from one barangay to
another are all over town.

As we all know, water supply is scarce every summer season as brought about by the
decrease in water level on dams. The low level of water is happening because of the
lack of rain to supply its content. Because of this phenomena, people are forced to take
a bath every other day or even every three days. At the same time, diseases and other
unfavorable consequences are also pouring. It is high time to solve this type of case
since it brings a lot of adverse effects in the lives of many people.

MSMEs are considered as the backbone of the economy. These enterprises provide us
the opportunity to generate job opportunities, raise taxes, and make the cycle of
economy work better. In as much as business owners would like to venture more in the
world of business, they are compelled to put it into the waiting line. The main reason is
the lack of financing resources to carry out their plans. So, they are being boxed as
MSMEs. Studies reveal that there is about 90% of MSMEs in the country. Thus, this
high percentage reflects the high possibility of missed opportunities due to lack of
resources.

President Duterte was very proud to present one of the milestones of his presidency.
One of which is the project of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) whereas they
released about thee billions of loans for the MSMEs. Such financial advancement has
helped different industries expand their businesses. In return, we are also able to open
a lot of new job opportunities as well as increases tax. Business owners and enterprises
cannot help but be thankful about the changes that they can enjoy right now because of
the provision of MSMEs loan.
Decongesting the roads in Metro Manila is one of the best steps that the administration
together with the respective government agencies such as Metro Manila Development
Authority (MMDA) and Local Government Units (LGU) are working their efforts to
retrieve areas that supposed to be public but were used as private. The inconveniences
that these roads have brought to a lot of people and ending it is already a must. The
traffic that it causes takes time and effort for a lot of people and it slows down the
progress and economy in general.

Just, for instance, the reclaiming of the public roads in Divisoria from being usually used
as a public market and turning it now into an actual passable road is a concrete
example of it. Before, people would have to spend hours just to pass by that road since
it is teeming with bargains and stalls. Now, the changes are evident. This is the type of
changes that we have been waiting or a long time. Now, if the government could assure
us that we are all leading into what we have been dreaming of, I cannot just help but to
feel excited about what the future brings.