MANILA, Philippines — Several days following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), democratic coalitions, people's organizations, labor groups, faith-based institutions, and various sectoral formations on Thursday formed the launch of the People’s Assembly.
In a statement by Tindig Pilipinas, the combined group is described as a “broad alliance committed to advancing a shared people's agenda anchored on democracy, accountability, social justice, and meaningful public participation.”.
Coalition leaders said the recent address of the President “failed to adequately respond to the urgent needs of ordinary Filipinos and overlooked key reforms needed to address the country's worsening social and economic challenges.”
“The Filipino people deserve more than grand speeches and embellished accomplishments. As the administration enters the second half of its term, what matters is whether promises translate into concrete action that improves people's lives. The time for political theater is over—the time for accountability and genuine reform is now,” Tindig Pilipinas co-convenor Kiko Aquino-Dee said in a press conference on Thursday.
The assembly said the administration continues to fall short in delivering meaningful reforms and challenged them to fulfill accountability by “ensuring accountability for corruption, pursuing long-overdue political reforms, increasing workers' wages, and bringing down the prices of basic goods.”
“The government cannot continue to celebrate lofty ambitions while millions of Filipinos struggle to afford food, healthcare, and other basic necessities. We need a government that puts people's welfare above political image-building and has the courage to hold the powerful accountable, regardless of who they are,” Dee said.
The assembly reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening citizen participation and advancing reforms upholding “transparency, justice, democratic governance, and the welfare” of Filipinos.
At the time of the launch, the coalition also launched their own “People’s SONA”, that reported the “current state of urgency, national situation, sectoral concerns, and common vision”, which was the result of organizational and sectoral consultations during the Town Hall conducted earlier this month.
