Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello: 10 minutes into the speech, I realized that he was going to adopt an above-the-fray speech, and mentioning the three senators would have been a discordant note. I think he really tried to reach out to his critics and was conciliatory in his approach. What was particularly masterful was his use of DAP projects to illustrate his good governance points, ending with an appeal to Congress to pass a supplemental budget and a law delineating the fiscal powers of fhe different branches of government. He came across here as respectful of the separation of powers. Of course, the big hole was his not mentioning FOI. That was disappointing. On the other hand, he did mention land reform, though he could have been stronger on this. I do not think labor would be happy with his glorification of the absence of strikes since this is product of anti-labor policies over the last four decades that have made labor very weak. I have been waiting for four Sonas for him to recognize the role of our OFWs and was disappointed again. He disarmed his critics, at least temporarily. The big losers were the extreme Left who simply could not find an antidote to the presidents rhetorical skills and his sincerity. What was particularly pitiful was that hardly anyone noticed the walkout. What a wasted gesture! I did not realize they would be so amateurish. I could have given them good advice on how to do an effective walkout had they consulted me.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 15:18:07 +0000