Protesters gear up for Aquino’s Sona
PRESIDENT Benigno C. Aquino III will be portrayed by a militant group as a 13-foot high giant effigy feasting on a banquet on his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona) today.
The banquet, however, is only limited to Aquino’s “small circle of guests as the people wait for crumbs falling from the table,” said Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), which was barred from going near the Batasan Pambansa Complex, where Aquino is set to deliver his report to the nation.
“The effigy captures and symbolizes many of the issues raised against the current administration,” said Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr.
Bayan said the 7.8 percent economic expansion in the first quarter of this year will only ben- efit big businesses engaged in water, power and infrastructure as millions reel from high prices and fees.
It also criticized the increasing gap between the rich and the poor as reported by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), an indication that Aquino’s goal of inclusive growth may not be met.
“Look who’s ‘pigging out’ with Aquino as the nation goes hungry. This government believes that growth will trickle down to the poor but that strategy has proven ineffective. People are being made to wait for crumbs to trickle down even as the richest one percent see their wealth double,” said UgatLahi spokesman Cris de Leon, whose group has helped Bayan prepare giant effigies of different presidents, from Joseph Estrada to Aquino.