A YOUTH group yesterday called on the public to "disconnect from the lies" of President Arroyo by shutting down all electronic devices that will show her eighth state of the nation address next Monday.

In a forum organized by the Youth Against Debt at UP Diliman, its member-students said they are tired of the "annual litany of deceit."

"This is a direct form of protest against the illegitimate Arroyo government. Let us not allow our TVs, radios, Ipods, and computers to be infected by Mrs. Arroyo’s lies this SONA," YAD said.

"We hoped for prosperity and she gave us more poverty. We enjoin the TV and Ipod Generation to resist. Enough of the lies, enough of the evil," it said.

The anti-debt youth group said under the eight years of the Arroyo government, national government debt rose to record heights "with the Arroyo administration distinguishing itself in keeping record of having borrowed and paid debts more than the post-Marcos administrations combined."

YAD also decried the continuous suffering of Philippine education. It said that under Arroyo, education spending per gross national product dropped from 3.8 percent during the Estrada administration to 2.2 percent in 2006, "a far-cry from a widely-accepted international standard as prescribed by UNESCO pegging education spending 6 percent of GNP."

The Freedom from Debt Coalition’s Power Advocacy Unit said that "in a time of a grueling economic crisis, watching and/or listening to Mrs. Arroyo is an awful waste of electricity and money."

The debt watchdog said by turning off TV sets, radios, and computers throughout the SONA coverage, which is about 4 hours, "each household will be saving an average of P10-P14 if they are using a standard 50-watt radio, a TV, and a computer."

Based on 11 million households nationwide, FDC said switching off of electronic equipment receiving the SONA amounts to as much as P150 million of household savings, or about 3 gigawatts of electricity.

"Imagine, the Arroyo administration is calling on the people to waste that much money and electricity so we can watch and listen to its lies?" FDC said.

"Thus, instead of watching and hearing President Arroyo’s annual spectacle of fabricated truths, we urge the Filipino youth and the general public to conserve electricity and protest all day," FDC said.