Erap: No point in listening to Arroyo's SONA

Erap: No point in listening to Arroyo's SONA

GMANews.TV
GMANews.TV - Monday, July 28


MANILA, Philippines - Deposed President Joseph Estrada on Monday said he sees no point in listening to his successor's State of the Nation Address (SONA), as he said anything President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo says in her speech will be insufficient to clear her administration's name.
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In a radio interview, Estarada said it is "impossible" for President Arroyo to make it up to Filipinos, given that she only has two years left before finally bowing out of office.

“Diyos ko po. Mag-wawalong taon na po siya, pero wala siyang nagawa. Pano siya makakabawi ng mahigit sa isang taon na lamang (My God. She's been the president for almost eight years but she's done nothing. How can she make up with only more than a year left in office)," said Estrada, who was pardoned by President Arroyo herself after he was convicted of plunder in 2007.

“Imposible ata iyon dahil sa dami ng katiwalian na nangyari sa kanyang pamamalakad ay napakahirap (That seems impossible given the reported corruption that happened under her term)," Estrada added.

Being a former senator, Estrada earlier was invited by the Senate to show up at the Batasan Pambansa Complex when President Arroyo delivers her eighth SONA before a joint session of Congress.

The deposed president however declined the request, saying he, like other lawmakers who vowed to snub the SONA, did not want to hear “lies."

“Ano naman papakinggan ko doon? Wala na tayong dapat pakinggan doon. Puro kultura ng kasinungalingan lang ang maririnig ko doon (There is nothing we should hear from her speech. All we will hear there are products of a culture of lies)," Estrada said.

He said he would not only snub the gathering at the Batasan Pambansa complex but would also not monitor the SONA on radio or TV.

“Hindi na ko manunuod. Alam ko na naman ang kanyang sasabihin eh. Nakikita niyo ilang porsiyenta na ang naniniwala sa kanyang SONA according to a survey of the Pulse Asia (I will not be watching anymore. I already know what she will be saying anyway. We have seen through the Pulse Asia survey that there is a percentage of Filipino who did not believe in her past SONAs)," he said.

The said survey of some 2,000 adults showed that around 46 percent of all the respondents aware of the SONA believed that President Arroyo’s speech will be “untruthful." - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV