By Cheeno Luang
(Vol. XXVII No. 7, Editorial Cartoon)
(Vol. XXVII No. 7, Editorial Cartoon)
More work
In her State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 27, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (PGMA) did not only report her accomplishments in her nine years of service but also left another set of promises to the Filipino people for her last few months as the president of the Philippine Republic.
In the twilight of her administration, it was expected that PGMA would boast of her accomplishments since she started to take hold of the presidential seat. Indeed, achievements like the upgrade of credit rating, citing the resilience of our economy; putting up of new tax revenues and a strong educational system; construction of more roads and infrastructure; building of airports of international standard, etcetera… etcetera…were enumerated by the proud president during her SONA.
Aside from the annual accomplishment report, another remarkable part of her speech was the set of promises she left. As the end of PGMA’s term approaches, she still has promises for the Filipino people. She promised to help more fisher folk shift to fish farming with a budget of P1billion. She promised to aid hungry families. She promised to support the youth to make sure that they get a healthy start in life. She promised to address terrorism in the country. She promised this and she promised that. It is beyond doubt that her SONA was full of promises.
Yes, promises. Promises that every year bombard the ears of the Filipino people. Promises that we do not know when they will be fulfilled, or if they were fulfilled at all. This time, it seems that mapapako na naman ang mga pangakong ito since there is not enough time left for PGMA to fulfill these promises.
Looking back, PGMA has indeed accomplished some things – she has all the evidences to prove it. But, as ordinary citizens, did we really feel it? Did we, the poor ones, benefit from the so-called achievements of PGMA? If you answered ‘yes’, perhaps it is because you got persuaded by the convincing speech of the president. But think again. Maybe, you were just influenced by the 74-minute speech of the president seasoned with 126 applauses. Truly, she had a nice speech that she even made special mention of those who criticize her administration. She said, “Had we listened to the critics of those policies, had we not braced ourselves for the crisis that came, had we taken the easy road much preferred by politicians eyeing elections, this country would be flat on its back”. This wonderful line from the president has gained positive response from some members of the senate.
But the bottom line is: Is she really telling the true state of the nation? Do we feel it?
Moments after the 9th SONA of the president, Senator Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr. posted his reaction in the official website of the Senate of the Philippines 14th Congress (www.senate.gov.ph), saying positive stance on the president’s address. Revilla said that despite the achievements of PGMA’s administration, politicking still continues. Thus, politicking is the only thing that the Filipino people see, not PGMA’s achievements.
Well, Senator Revilla could be right in saying that politicking continues to reign despite the accomplishments of the president. But is it not because PGMA’s achievements were not good enough? Anyway, if there is nothing to say about her administration or if she’s doing her job excellently, then people will not castigate her.
Let us see if the president will do her job right this time when she is already at the last minute of her final term. She even stated this: “Some say that after this SONA, it will be all politics. Sorry, but there’s more work...”
Let’s hold on to that line. And let’s all cross our fingers.
In the twilight of her administration, it was expected that PGMA would boast of her accomplishments since she started to take hold of the presidential seat. Indeed, achievements like the upgrade of credit rating, citing the resilience of our economy; putting up of new tax revenues and a strong educational system; construction of more roads and infrastructure; building of airports of international standard, etcetera… etcetera…were enumerated by the proud president during her SONA.
Aside from the annual accomplishment report, another remarkable part of her speech was the set of promises she left. As the end of PGMA’s term approaches, she still has promises for the Filipino people. She promised to help more fisher folk shift to fish farming with a budget of P1billion. She promised to aid hungry families. She promised to support the youth to make sure that they get a healthy start in life. She promised to address terrorism in the country. She promised this and she promised that. It is beyond doubt that her SONA was full of promises.
Yes, promises. Promises that every year bombard the ears of the Filipino people. Promises that we do not know when they will be fulfilled, or if they were fulfilled at all. This time, it seems that mapapako na naman ang mga pangakong ito since there is not enough time left for PGMA to fulfill these promises.
Looking back, PGMA has indeed accomplished some things – she has all the evidences to prove it. But, as ordinary citizens, did we really feel it? Did we, the poor ones, benefit from the so-called achievements of PGMA? If you answered ‘yes’, perhaps it is because you got persuaded by the convincing speech of the president. But think again. Maybe, you were just influenced by the 74-minute speech of the president seasoned with 126 applauses. Truly, she had a nice speech that she even made special mention of those who criticize her administration. She said, “Had we listened to the critics of those policies, had we not braced ourselves for the crisis that came, had we taken the easy road much preferred by politicians eyeing elections, this country would be flat on its back”. This wonderful line from the president has gained positive response from some members of the senate.
But the bottom line is: Is she really telling the true state of the nation? Do we feel it?
Moments after the 9th SONA of the president, Senator Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr. posted his reaction in the official website of the Senate of the Philippines 14th Congress (www.senate.gov.ph), saying positive stance on the president’s address. Revilla said that despite the achievements of PGMA’s administration, politicking still continues. Thus, politicking is the only thing that the Filipino people see, not PGMA’s achievements.
Well, Senator Revilla could be right in saying that politicking continues to reign despite the accomplishments of the president. But is it not because PGMA’s achievements were not good enough? Anyway, if there is nothing to say about her administration or if she’s doing her job excellently, then people will not castigate her.
Let us see if the president will do her job right this time when she is already at the last minute of her final term. She even stated this: “Some say that after this SONA, it will be all politics. Sorry, but there’s more work...”
Let’s hold on to that line. And let’s all cross our fingers.
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