About 2,000 members of cause-oriented groups in Negros Occidental marched from different assembly points toward Bacolod City’s downtown area and denounced yesterday the State of the Nation Address of President Gloria Arroyo.

Members of Alab Katipunan criticized President Arroyo for her failure to address the widespread hunger and poverty in the country.

AK spokesperson Ben Solilapsi said the President and her family live on the taxes paid by the Filipino people whom her administration continue to subject to unjust economic policies.

The group also scoffed at her pronouncement of an “economic boom” which he said failed to trickle down to the homes of the majority of Filipinos in the countryside.

“The economic boom is only a product of the inflows of OFWs remittances…graft and corruption remain unsolved,” he said.

The Kilusan ng Pambansang Demokrasya members, who also converged at the Bacolod City public plaza, scored the President for the Human Security Act.

In a press statement, Tina Sator, KPD coordinator said the HSA is practically, the executive branch usurping the powers of the judiciary for it vests President Arroyo with extra power to employ state structures against perceived “terrorists”.

Meanwhile, youth groups joining the rally at the Fountain of Justice in front of Bacolod City Hall, delivered their State of the Youth Address which criticized the “anti-students and anti-youth polices” of the Arroyo administration.

Anakbayan-Negros spokesperson Zara Alvarez said education in the country has been commercialized, resulting in a growing number of out-of-school youth every year.

Members of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas-Negros, who also joined the rally at the Fountain of Justice, decried the failure of the government to implement a genuine agrarian reform program.

Meanwhile, Bayan-Negros secretary geneal Felipe Gelle said that if the Arroyo is sincere in introducing reforms, it has to stop its dependence on foreign loans and investment.

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