Silfavan RIPH speech of cory to us congress PDF

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Jhe Silfavan BSBA FM-1BRIPH – Speech of Corazon Aquino in the US CongressGuide Questions Watch the speech of Cory Aquino and describe the scene. How was the speech? How did the audience react to her half-hour long address? On September 18, 1985, President Corazon Aquino delivered a speech before the...

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BSBA FM-1B

RIPH – Speech of Cor Corazon azon Aquino in the US Congr Congress ess Guide Questions 1.

Watch the spee speech ch of Cory Aquino and describe the scene. How w was as the speech? How did the audience react to her half half-hour -hour long address? On September 18, 1985, President Corazon Aquino delivered a speech before the joint session of the United States of America in Washington DC. The congress chamber was filled and packed with people eager to hear the speech of Aquino. The people present in the session welcome her with so much enthusiasm. They gave her a standing ovation and a round of applause before starting her speech. Many audiences that are cabinet members, senators, diplomats, and congressmen show their support by displaying her signature yellow color through their shirts, blouses, ties, handkerchiefs, and ribbons. The speech was delivered smoothly and confidently. It was powerful and heart-warming. It was also sincere and likely personal to Aquino because it includes her family’s experiences during the Marcos administration. She also addressed the appeal for the financial aid of America to the Philippines. In her half-hour-long address, the audience interrupted the speech with applause – about 11 times, and gave standing ovations at the end of the speech – indicating their approval and support to the Cory government.

2.

What was in her speech that convinced the House of R Rep ep epresentative resentative resentativess to gr grant ant two-hundred million-dollar emergency aid to the Philippin Philippines? es? What were the issues rraised aised or views pointed out in her address? In the moving speech of Corazon Aquino, she defended her reconciliatory stand on the communist insurgency. Aquino said, “You have spent many lives and much treasure to bring freedom to many lands that were reluctant to receive it. And here you have a people who won it by themselves and need only the help to preserve it.” Aquino also raised in her speech issues of poverty and unemployment. She said that she agrees to pay the debt that was stolen by Marcos. As she ends her speech, she thanked America for being her family’s “haven from oppression”. Then, she asks America to join her as she builds “a new home for democracy, another haven for the oppressed.” After delivering her speech, Aquino gained the trust of the cabinet members and people present in the session. House Speaker Tip O'Neill said that it was the "finest speech I've ever heard in my 34 years in Congress." Above the din of cheering officials, Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole told Mrs. Aquino, "Cory, you hit a home run." Without missing a beat, Aquino smiled and shot back: "I hope the bases were loaded."

3.

How did the speech aff affect ect you as a view viewer? er? In what way would it be rendered rrelevant elevant to the current conditions of our country? Cite sspecific lines from the speech. pecific As a viewer, I felt proud that President Aquino, the first female president of the Philippines was able to convince the House of Representatives to grant two-hundred million-dollar emergency aid to the Philippines. “Like Lincoln, I understand that force may be necessary before mercy. Like Lincoln, I don’t relish it. Yet, I will do whatever it takes to defend the integrity and freedom of my country.” Her confidence and willingness to defend the freedom and democracy of the Philippines are very inspiring. However, I felt disappointed with the last part of her speech – thanking America for the oppression. “Three years ago, I said thank you, America, for the haven from oppression, and the home you gave Ninoy, myself and our children, and for the three happiest years of our lives together. Today, I say, join us, America, as we build a new home for democracy, another haven for the oppressed, so it may stand as a shining testament of our two nation’s commitment to freedom.” As a Filipino viewer, I am not in favor of her giving gratitude to America because Filipinos also suffered from American colonization. The freedom of our country and our rights were also oppressed. In the current conditions of our country, we have issues about the dispute in the West Philippine Sea. In the past few weeks, the tensions in the West Philippine Sea have flared as the Chinese vessels were found swarming in the area. In my opinion, the most we can learn from the speech, I believed, is that we cannot entrust our redemption to another sovereign state – that applies in the current situation of the Philippines and China. Our government should take action now and fight the rights of our country in the West Philippine Sea. We must act now or it will too late.

4.

What are the points in her speech th that at you agree and disagr disagree ee with? Which lines hit you? In Aquino’s speech, she said that the communist insurgency feeds on economic deterioration. The first communist rebellion in which Martial Law was supposed to terminate is continually spreading and deepening its roots. I think this is because inequality is increasing. The solution for the rebellion is addressing the causes, and we should always be careful entrusting our redemption to any other sovereign state. I also agree with her regarding defending the integrity and freedom of my country. Like Lincoln, I understand that force may be necessary before mercy. Like Lincoln, I don’t relish it. Yet, I will do whatever it takes to defend the integrity and freedom of my country.” As Filipino, we should defend our country from any possible threat of colonization and protect our rights. However, in the last part of Aquino’s speech, I didn’t agree with her thanking America’s oppression in our country. “Three years ago, I said thank you, America, for the haven from oppression, and the home you gave Ninoy, myself and our children, and for the three happiest years of our lives together. Today, I say, join us, America, as we build a new home for democracy, another haven for the oppressed, so it may stand as a

shining testament of our two nation’s commitment to freedom.” Maybe for her, it’s a good thing but to some Filipinos who experienced sufferings under American colonization, it printed scars in their feelings and memory. The wound that Americans brought to the Philippines will still be there. 5.

Wor ork k in at most gr group oup of fours. View the llatest atest state of the nation addr address ess of Pres. R Rodrigo odrigo R. Duterte. W Write rite your group’ group’ss discussion of the impact of the SONA to the diff different erent sectors of society ( i.e. wom women, en, youth, labor sector sector,, health, gov govt. t. workers, ffarmers, armers, OFWs etc. etc.))

In his 2020 State Of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 27, President Duterte addressed various points, including his plans on the coronavirus pandemic, the passage of the law postponing the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections and the overall situation of the Philippines.The year 2020 will mark the Philippines' History because of the lives that were taken and many shattered opportunities. President Duterte opened up plans, talked about issues and problems, and had opened up "possible solutions" for them. HEAL HEALTH TH One of the sectors in the Philippines that have been greatly affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic is the health sector. The virus has posed a threat to the health and safety of the people. Thus, one of the highlights in the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) is expressing his gratitude to the front-liners who are working despite the danger they may encounter. In response to the impacts of Covid-19, the President emphasized that he prioritize life over other considerations and he plans to add more health personnel to the local health facilities to strengthen the country's health system. He also mentioned that there are 93 accredited testing laboratories nationwide and the government is aiming to conduct 1.4 million tests by end of July. The Nursing Education Act and the plan to establish the National Disease Prevention and Management Authority as a preventative measure for future health crises were also debated in Congress. The president also mentioned that his administrations aim to implement projects to establish and improve Barangay Health Stations, Rural Health Units, and other healthcare facilities. Since the Pandemic has just started within that time, the government has been mitigating the human and economic impact of the virus within the country. As a result, many people have been worried and confused about their safety while President Duterte promises to prioritize his fellow countrymen's health. EDUCA EDUCATION TION Following the health protocols, the CHED and DepEd decided to pursue the school year through a blended learning approach. Before finishing his term, the President stated that he would provide all public schools with the required materials for online learning. The topic of education focuses on the delayed face-to-face classes, implementing online learning, or modular learning for the students. Upon hearing the SONA, the agencies and departments under the

educational sector have expressed their gratitude for the support that the president extends. Also, it significantly affects the students who are confined to their homes since there is a pandemic. Face-to-face classes will be prohibited until the vaccine is available; thus, education will be delivered via broadcast television. With that, the DepEd had implemented the DepEd TV, which was launched last October 5, 2020. On March 18, 2021, DepEd reported that DepTV produced 1,981 episodes from the first quarter to the third quarter of the current school year. The president has also mentioned that he appreciates the law establishing the National Academy of Sports. As this can help our deserving student-athletes the training and support they need to excel in their chosen field of endeavors. LABOR The president reported that the Salary Standardization Law of 2019 increased the salary of government officials to encourage them to perform better and attract Filipinos to join public service. In addition, the labor sector indicates that numerous people lost their job and gave policy marching orders on matters that concern the daily lives of workers. Some of the workers felt that the government is forgetting them, but President Duterte urges them to strengthen their minds and bodies to improve the service for the people. With this, over 4.3 million poor families benefited from the Pantawid Pamilya and over 9.2 million beneficiaries received subsidies under the Unconditional Cash Transfer program. Public utility drivers were given assistance through the Pantawid Pasada Program and since there were complaints that some drivers did not receive any assistance the president directed the DSWD and DILG to look into this matter. He further discussed that under the Social Amelioration Program, the government has allotted 205 billion pesos for poor and low-income households who were affected during this pandemic, especially those that were affected with the no-work, no-pay arrangement. The president also admitted that the implementation of the Social Amelioration Program was not perfect. Duterte highlights the country’s positive credit appraisals and says with a solid financial position, the Philippines is in a “better position to climate the emergency caused by the COVID19 worldwide widespread." He says critical foundation ventures beneath the Build Build Build Program were completed which a “comprehensive composed report” specifying these will be released. He further pushes that infrastructure investments are effective tools to help spur high growth, attract investments, create jobs, and achieve financial inclusion for all Filipinos that would help the country’s economy. In response, the Filipinos had questioned the president’s concern over the unemployed citizens. The shutdown of ABS-CBN has affected numerous Filipinos to be left unemployed and is said to be affecting the economy of our country. OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS (OFW) Many of the Overseas Filipino Workers have expressed their gratitude to President Duterte on his SONA. The president has instructed several government agencies to assist all OFWs in mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on themselves and their families in the Philippines. He called the CHED for scholarship programs for the qualified dependents of our OFWs. He has also directed the Department of Agriculture and DTI to come up with agri-

business and entrepreneurship projects to help displaced OFWs rebuild their livelihood. Lastly, he mentioned LANDBANK and other government financial institutions to continue providing lowinterest loans to our OFWs. In addition, the COVID-19 Adjustment Measures Program also includes the OFW’s who needs financial assistance. One of the Agencies that tapped was the Technical Education and Skills Development (TESDA). Following Duterte’s directive to TESDA during his SONA to come up with special training programs for returning OFWs, the TESDA announced that they will launch OFW desks at all regional and provincial offices to retool balikbayans to easily find employment opportunities in the country. Secretary Isidro Lapeña also said that all TESDA offices will be designated with OFW focal persons who will prioritize all the concerns of OFWs by providing information about the TESDA’s programs and services, and making sure that they will be included in the TESDA scholarship. TESDA currently offers registration through the TESDA mobile app for returning OFWs applying for scholarships. On the other hand, the Small Business Corporation (SB Corporation), the micro-financing arm of the Department of Trade and Industry for start-up businesses in the Philippines, has launched a P100-million loan facility for repatriates laid off as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. Moreover, according to DOLE, more than 400,000 OFWs affected by the Covid-19 pandemic had been brought home last January 17, 2021. FARMERS Ahead of the SONA 2020, farmers and fisherfolks have felt that the government barely recognizes them. Even before the pandemic, farmer leaders pointed out the dropping of the prices of the vegetables and the rice tariffication law has worsened their situation. In this current situation, the pandemic has forced farmers to throw away unsold vegetables that got spoiled amid lockdowns. In the SONA, one of the proposals and measures mentioned by President Duterte is the call for the passage of a law establishing the Coconut Farmers’ Trust Fund and a P66-billion agricultural stimulus package through the Rural Agricultural and Fisheries Development Financing System Act. Following the SONA, House Agriculture chair Mark Enverga commended the President in including agricultural development in his agenda. With the president’s call, the House Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday, November 18, 2020, approved the funding provision for the measure seeking to establish the coco levy trust fund, which is expected to benefit farmers and develop the coconut industry. The said trust fund will be following the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan. HUMAN RIGHTS In the human rights sector, President Duterte mentioned that the Executive Order No. 100 that was issued last 2019 established the Diversity and Inclusion Program as a national program of the Government with the aim to end the discrimination of persons on the basis of age, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, and other character traits. He also mentioned that he signed the Executive Order No. 92 last 2019 creating the National Council Against Child Labor with the purpose to protect the rights of children and reduce and eliminate any form of child labor. He also reported that the Martial Law

in Mindanao ended without abuses in its implementation of two-and-a-half years. However, human rights group ‘Karapatan’ records a total of 800 000 cases of human rights violation. President Duterte pitted human rights against human lives. The president vowed to support human rights, but he later threatened to kill actual and alleged drug users. He took the language of human rights to justify his war on drugs and abuses seen under his administration. With that, the people have feared; the government for them is dangerous because of what they can do since they believe that freedom from illegal drugs, terrorism, and criminality is human rights. TELECOMMUNICA TELECOMMUNICATIONS TIONS In the insight of Ookla last October 2020, the Philippines ranked 111th for its mobile speed and 107th for fixed broadband. Many Filipinos have expressed their disappointments with telecommunication firms. During his fifth State of the Nation Address last July, President Rodrigo Duterte warned Telecommunication Companies, specifically Smart and Globe, to improve their services before December, or else the government will be doing it. He said that he will spend the next two years of his term ensuring that the government will improve telecommunications “without you” – referring to the two biggest telecommunication firms. With that, many Filipino citizens agreed with what President Duterte said. After the warning, the Globe responded to the president, saying that the company heeds his call for an improved service. “We heed the call of the President to improve telco services. Service performance and increased consumer demand for data are the key reasons why we have been investing billions of dollars to upgrade and improve our network. This year Globe has earmarked $1.2 billion in Capex, the majority of which goes to network and capacity builds,” the company said in a statement. It was also highlighted in their statement that the company's multi-billion dollar investments in the past to improve its services are already paying off, but admitted challenges remain. According to the Globe, the recently signed joint memorandum circular spearheaded by the Department of Information and Communications Technology may speed up the roll-out of telco towers and help in improving the connectivity in the country. However, Smart did not release any statement regarding the warning of President Duterte. After the President’s mandate, the Philippines moved up to the 86th spot in the global mobile internet speed rankings in January 2021, according to the data reported by Ookla. This is a marked improvement from its 111th rank in 2020, however, this is still low from other neighboring countries. To sum it all, we believe that he failed to give us tangible solutions and concrete plans to survive this pandemic. As Filipino citizens, witnessing his speech for almost two hours only led us to disappointment. Many critical issues need more attention, but the president seems more focused on oligarchs. As Filipinos, we are waiting for the governments’ action to assure our country’s safety and security. The president has many plans to envision for the Philippines, but these plans are

not what we want to see. We want to see effective results and visible proof that shows his dedication for the betterment of our country.

Grouped Work by: Ma. Bianca Karmela Salcedo, Christine Mae Santos, Jhe Silfavan

References: https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2020/07/27/rodrigo-roa-duterte-fifth-state-of-the-nationaddress-july-27-2020/ https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/national/globe-responds-after-president-duterte-threatenedit-during-sona-2020/ar-BB17fdGG?li=BBr8Mkn https://www.dole.gov.ph/news/400k-ofws-sent-home/#:~:text=More%20than %20400%2C000%20overseas%20Filipino,labor%20department%20reported%20on %20Saturday. https://filipinotimes.net/latest-news/2020/07/29/the-presidents-promise-to-ofws-in-sona-2020/ https://www.deped.gov.ph/2021/03/18/deped-tv-highlights-milestones-in-inset-2021/ https://dict.gov.ph/ph-moves-up-in-mobile-internet-speed-global-rankings/...