CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. laid out a sweeping domestic agenda in his State of the Nation Address (Sona), promising expanded tax exemptions, multi-billion-peso social safety nets, and an uncompromising defense of the West Philippine Sea. However, the address quickly drew sharp rebukes from rights groups and civic leaders who branded the speech a “failure” for dodging human rights abuses, environmental crises, and stalled peace processes. READ: Marcos presses Congress to raise minimum taxable income to P350,000 The President drew a standing ovation when he called for the amendment of the EPIRA law to explicitly abolish […]...Keep on reading: Rights advocates 'disappointed' with Marcos Sona