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IN THE NEWS
July 25, 2000

LRT Employees State Surprise Strike

Abu Sayyaf Holds TV Crew; Demands Ransom

2 Men Escape from Kidnappers

Opposition calls State of Nation 'Tragic'

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IN THE NEWS

Opposition calls state of nation 'tragic'

MANILA, July 25  -- Senate Minority Leader Teofisto
Guingona said the real state of the nation today is "tragic and miserable" because of the lack of governance of President Joseph Estrada.

Reacting to the President's State-of-the Nation Address (SONA), Guingona said the Estrada administration had no sense of direction and vision, which led to the country's economic stagnation.

The opposition senator said even before the outbreak of hostilities in Mindanao last April, the country's economy was already shaky.

He cited the poor performance of the agricultural sector whose first quarter performance dipped by two per cent and the unemployment rate which ballooned by 54 per cent from January to April this year.

On the President's Sona, Guingona dubbed it: "Idealistic, not Sona." He also lashed at Estrada for hitting former President Fidel V. Ramos "below the belt."

"Estrada has no basis for faulting his predecessor without a court case," Guingona added.

For his part, Senate President Franklin Drilon appeared impressed by Estrada's candid speech, saying "to me, it is a better approach than the usual figures and statistics. It is not just saying where we are; more importantly, he laid out his vision where
we are going."

"He minced no words in expressing his determination to stamp out lawlessness in Mindanao," Drilon said, referring to the President's "demand" for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to return to the peace negotiating table.

On Estrada's admission of his inability to eradicate poverty by himself and his "not so spectacular" economic accomplishments, Senate Majority Leader Francisco Tatad said: "The President was
unusually modest and moderate in presenting the achievements of his administration. He expressed firm resolve to address urgent problems of peace and poverty, corruption and social contagion, without setting unrealistic and unattainable targets for his
administration."

Party list Rep. Renato Magtubo of Sanlakas justified his absence during the President's SONA, saying he really intended not to attend as he refused to be in a parliament controlled by "trapos" or traditional politicians.

Another Estrada staunch critic, Iloilo Rep. Raul Gonzales said the President's speech was so unfortunate because he could not deliver it without converting Metro Manila into a veritable "war
zone."

"Here is a President who claims such popularity but is
obviously afraid of his own people," Gonzales said, reacting to the violence which preceded Estrada's SONA. (SNS)

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