Status reports from govt offices in for SONA

Almost all government departments have already turned in their reports that will shape President Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 26, Malacañang said Saturday. Communications Group official Herminio Coloma said Aquino is now studying the reports and will hold a series of meetings with Cabinet members this coming week. “Sa aking pagkaalam halos lahat na department nakapag-submit ng ulat. Ito naman ay pinag-aaralan at tinitingnan kung paano makabuo ng importanteng ipapaliwanag ng pangulo sa SONA," Coloma said on government-run dzRB radio. (To the best of my knowledge, almost all departments have turned in their reports, and Aquino is now studying them for his SONA.) He said Aquino is taking his first SONA very seriously, having planned a series of “intense preparations" for it. “Ang aking pagkakaalam, simula sa darating na linggo magiging puspusan ang paghahanda niya sapagka’t ito ang kanyang unang SONA (I am not sure about his itinerary but I know starting next week he will prepare full blast for his first SONA)," he said. Meanwhile, Aquino can expect a pre-SONA message from militants, who will hold a protest march to condemn extra-judicial killings that they said still persist under the new administration. Militant umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said it and its allies will hold a march this coming Monday also to call for a stop to the counter-insurgency program. “President Aquino has made statements on human rights, but these are not enough. The killings must stop. President Aquino must take concrete steps to identify and punish not only the gunmen, but also the masterminds of extrajudicial killings. He must also abandon (Oplan Bantay Laya) as a government policy," Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said on the Bayan website Friday afternoon. While Bayan did not mention the venue of the march, it indicated that the event will take place July 19 — a full week before Aquino delivers his first SONA. Bayan noted that at least four people had fallen victim to extra-judicial killings since Aquino was inaugurated on June 30. These included radio commentator and newspaper columnist Jose Daguio of Tabuk City, Kalinga; Fernando Baldomero, councilor of Lezo, Aklan and official of Bayan Muna, the Makabayan Coalition, and the Liberal Party in the province; Pascual Guevarra, leader of the Alyansa ng Magsasakang Nagkakaisa (Almana) and Anakpawis in Nueva Ecija; and Mark Francisco of Act Teachers Partylist in Masbate. Earlier Friday, Baldomero’s cousin Zosimo Inginiero was found dead in Aklan. On the other hand, radio reporter Miguel Belen of Camarines Sur remains in critical condition after surviving an assassination attempt. “More than a thousand people, many of them activists, fell prey to extrajudicial killings during the nine years of the Arroyo administration. In many of the high-profile cases of activist killings, state security forces were identified as the perpetrators," Bayan said. - KBK, GMANews.TV