Former Gov. Arthur Yap wrote in his column in The Bohol Tribune about his thoughts regarding President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA).
The said column can be read on the print edition of The Bohol Tribune in its July 31, 2022 issue.
In the column, Yap narrated his experience in helping craft the SONA of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during his time as Director General of the Presidential Management Staff.
He said that based on his (Yap’s) experience, he could say that President Marcos Jr. is subjected to “the highest levels of stress and tension” as the SONA speech goes through final editing and revision.
He said further that the programs mentioned in the SONA will become national policy and should be adopted and funded by Congress.
Yap, a former congressman of the 3rd district of Bohol, said that prior to the president’s SONA, both chambers of Congress choose their leaders.
The House of the Representatives has chosen Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez as speaker while Sen. Miguel Zubiri is now the new Senate President.
Yap said he expects the president to tackle issues concerning the economy, national debt, and the direction of the country moving forward.
True enough, the things Yap mentioned in his column were among the issues President Marcos Jr. mentioned in his SONA on July 25, 2022.
Yap was spot on as he mentioned the areas of agriulture, healthcare, job creation and investments as the areas the President should tackle and Marcos Jr. indeed tackled these subjects in the SONA.
Moreover, Yap expounded on the areas of agriculture and fisheries as he gave his opinion on the policy direction of the country in relation to these sectors given the fact he is a former Agriculture Secretary.