Rolando P.

Yanson, III July 23, 2019

Grade 9 – Amber

Reaction Paper

MANILA, Philippines – The 16th president of the republic of the Philippines, President
Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivered his 4th SONA (State of the Nation Address) last Monday, July 22
at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon city. In it, President Duterte accentuated the achievements of
his administration halfway through his six-year political term and outlined his proposed plans for
his three (3) remaining years in office.
At the beginning of President Duterte’s speech, he started it by extending his hand in
gratitude to all who kept faith in him even during our nation’s darkest times. He highlighted the
landslide victory of the administration’s candidates in the recently conducted senatorial elections
and the result of the latest approval/disapproval survey conducted by Pulse Asia. Numerous
notable topics were also tackled during the president's SONA including the administration’s
controversial war on drugs, West Philippine Sea dispute, Reed bank collision, corruption, death
penalty, PhilHealth fraud, Bangsamoro, and the inclusion of a 3rd Telco to name a few. Out of the
topics that were discussed during the President's SONA, there were three (3) subject matters that
have evoked the thoughts that are dwelling in my mind namely: death penalty, West Philippine
sea dispute and Reed bank collision, and the administration’s controversial war on drugs — the
three of which are highly significant issues present in the Philippines today.
Starting with death penalty, I believe that it has its own pros and cons. If death penalty will
be reinstated in the Phillipines for heinous crimes, it would be of great help to lower crime rates in
the country, thus providing a safe and peaceful environment for us Filipino citizens. But, the
reinstatement of the death penalty would be a violation of our human and constitutional rights
since every human being has the right to live life and exist. If you are subjected to death penalty
you are already being deprived from your priveledge to exist. And if ever you are falsely accused
of a heinous crime, there is a great possibility that you will be given improper judgement since the
Judiciary system in the country is unsubstantial. So, for this matter my thoughts on the
reinstatement of the death penalty is not fully established — only halfway.
Another topic that caught my attention is the never-ending dispute in West Philippine sea.
This diplomatic issue was already present during the past administration and is still continuing
today. The West Philippine sea is within the country's 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone
(EEZ). But, the Chinese government claims that it is within their territory, hence calling it South
China sea. Due to these confusion, it was brought up to the National Arbitral Tribunal in France
and based upon the results of the court ruling, the court favored the Philippines hence, giving us
sovereign rights over the aforementioned disputed waters. Despite the result, there are still no
noticeable actions coming from the Government until now. The latest occurrence related to this
issue was the Reed bank collision. It was reported that a Chinese vessel intentionally collided with
a small fishing vessels owned by Filipino fisher folk. This incident sparked tensions among
Filipinos and Chinese and many are asking for answers and an appropriate response coming from
the Palace. But we weren't given the answers we were wanting. The Palace released a press
Rolando P. Yanson, III July 23, 2019
Grade 9 – Amber
statement that implies that the Reed bank collision is nothing but a mere accident and is not
intentional. During the President's SONA, he quoted, "I am not ready or inclined the occurrence
of more destruction, more widows, more orphans, should war even on a limited scale, breaks out,"
Duterte emphasized. I understand that he just wants to avoid armed conflicts and the possibility of
a war against China. But, he should also put into consideration the fact that we have jurisdiction
over the West Philippine sea since it is within our 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone
(EEZ) and provided by the decision made by the National Arbitral Tribunal in France. All of the
inhumane actions made by the Chinese government and all its constituents should also be subjected
to expiation and be indemnified. I solely believe that it's always better to fight for something than
to not have fought it at all. As for China, they should respect and follow the orders and mandate
given by the National Arbitral Tribunal since they are a member of UNCLOS (United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea). What's the purpose of their membership if they are not even
willing to follow the organization's consensus?
Probably one of the most controversial programs conducted by the administration is their
War on Drugs. This program was created supposedly to reduce crime rates and eradicate drugs in
all levels of society. But it turned to be a disastrous issue being faced by country. It is appraised
that many individuals were killed in police operations having the same reason why they were killed
— police resistance. This became the subject of interrogation of human rights ogranization
including the CHR. Based on their findings, many of the victims in police operations were killed
intentionally. I know that the Pres. Duterte’s intention is clean and doesn't have any motive other
than considering the safety and protection of the Filipino people. On the contrary, I wholeheartedly
believe that no life should be sacrificed in order to achieve one common goal. There are other ways
to attain a drug-free country or to reduce the presence of drugs in a country. Such example is the
eradication of poverty since it one of the major reasons why people are often forced to sell drugs.
Always remember that every life is important and not even a single one is wasted.
The accomplishments as well as the problems that are being provided with solutions from
the past years until the present only shows that there is nothing that the nation is capable of
overcoming as long as there is effort to do so. It reveals how much changes we have had and how
much we are still about to expect in the near future. One thing that I have realized in Pres. Duterte’s
4th SONA is that it takes a village to build a community and a leader to run that community. If
people from the government and both the public and private sectors will do a collaborative effort
hand in hand, the word 'impossible' itself would mean nothing but a word dumped in the void of
inexistence and mere oblivion. "Together, we will rise at the pedestal."