Lacson urged Marcos to directly address the flood control controversy in his SONA, calling it a defining test of his leadership.
GATEWAY to growth Container vans and cargo-handling equipment operate at the Port of Manila underscoring the importance of efficient logistics infrastructure to the country’s trade ambitions.
PHOTOGRAPH BY TOTO LOZANO FOR DAILY TRIBUNE
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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is writing his own State of the Nation Address (SoNA) and is now reviewing the speech he will deliver Monday, Malacañang said Thursday.
Presidential Communications Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the President would personally conceptualize and prepare his address but declined to disclose its contents.
“As of now, the President is nearly finished and is reviewing his speech. I cannot reveal what he may say because I have neither seen nor heard what he will say,” Castro said in Filipino.
She also would not confirm whether Marcos would discuss the government’s flood control controversy in his address, saying the public should wait for the speech.
Her remarks came after a source said the President was expected to deliver a “forward-looking” SoNA and would not tackle the flood control issue.
Employers Confederation of the Philippines Chair Edgardo Lacson urged Marcos to directly address the flood control controversy in his SoNA, calling it a defining test of his leadership.
“The President must take the bull by the horns. This is not a moment for hesitation, equivocation, or political calculation,” Lacson said, echoing comments that Marcos might resort to “speechifying.”
Lacson argued that the controversy posed a greater threat than the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte because it involved the alleged misuse of public funds.
He also noted that former Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Zaldy Co had publicly identified former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and others as among those allegedly involved in inserting billions of pesos into anomalous flood control projects.
Romualdez has not been charged and has denied wrongdoing.
“Speechifying” has long been part of Philippine political vocabulary. It refers to delivering a speech in a grand, polished or overly rhetorical manner, often implying more talk than concrete action.
Castro noted that several contractors had already been charged.
