Senator Risa Hontiveros expressed her dismay over President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s failure to address the issues of online gambling and the wage hike.
On Monday, July 28, the President conducted his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Batasang Pambansa, addressing the woes and challenges faced by the Philippine society. Among those tackled during his SONA were the education sector, infrastructure projects, energy projects, and the issues with the water districts.
With this address lasting for an hour and 11 minutes, Hontiveros pointed out that the President had failed to mention the administration’s action on online gambling and wage hike.
“Hindi nabanggit ang pag-ban ng online gambling access sa mga e-wallets at super apps. Hindi rin nabanggit ang wake hike para sa ating mga manggagawa,” Hontiveros highlighted in a social media post. “Manipis na manipis ang #SONA2025.”
In a separate Facebook post, the Senator said there were only a few things that stood out to her during the SONA. One of them was the administration’s plan to improve the water supply to several areas.
“Nag-file na ako ng resolusyon para imbestigahan ‘yung serbisyo ng ma pinakamalaking private water companies na ka-joint venture agreement ng mga water districts,” she said. “Ito yung mga Prime Water, Manila Water, saka Metro Pacific Water.”
This was due to the “disadvantageous conditions” of the water companies’ contracts. Apart from this, Hontiveros pointed out that the companies do not follow through with their catch-up plans.
“Kung sinasabi ni Presidente na iimbestigahan yan, sana ibig sabihin ay talagang susuportahan pati yung imbestigasyon ng Senado kasi hindi na pwedeng tumagal yung either walang tubig or napakakaunti at odd hours or yung marumi,” she said.
“Usapin na yan ang dignidad ng tahanan ng Pilipino,” she added.
