A Review of The 5th SONA 2014
The pandemic (Coronavirus 2019) brought so much chaos in this world (online and offline). Blame game is on trend that can be seen in different social media sites. The liberals (most bashers refer to as yellowtards in the Philippines) blame the current administration specifically the President. The loyal supporters of the president (often referred to as dutertards or DDS) respond by citing the previous administrations’ mistakes without sharing what must have been done to correct those mistakes. Those actions brought more problems instead of solutions.
I am not a pro administration nor a liberal. I stand for the nations and the future generations. Let me share a review of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of the Philippines’ former president (“Noynoy” Aquino), which I made around 6 years ago. Comparing and contrasting his statements with the present president (“Rody” Duterte), their main point is the same for me. They want people to be united to create the change we want. As a philosopher said, “In unity, there is strength.”
The 5th SONA (2014)
“Kayo po ang boss, kayo ang lakas, kayo ang gumagawa ng pagbabago.” This quotation from the speech of the president was my favorite line. This answers and explains the questions thrown by the people to the administration, specifically the last part of the line. Changes will never be made without the cooperation of the people. The Philippines is a democratic country and the president has no direct control on the people in the government agencies. We Filipinos as a whole contribute to every result (positive or negative) in the undertakings for prosperity.
Going back to the main topic, the SONA is satisfactory based on my own perspective. If I’m going to rate it from 1-10, I’ll give the president 8, though many analysts and critics were not really satisfied because their expectations were not met. Some of the expectations were: the evaluation of the projects from different sectors such as health, education, agriculture, etc.; more new reports (because some said the 5th SONA was just like his other SONAs). I cannot blame them with their dissatisfaction. Others just have high expectations especially those high profiled ones. In my own point of view, as I’ve said a while ago, I’m satisfied with the SONA because comparing the present administration from the previous one with the results of their efforts for the Philippines’ growth, there were really big differences. The only problem is that they (the current administration) were challenged by different circumstances hindering the ordinary people to feel the positive changes in the country. The community where I live and my hometown were just part of the progress achieved by the administration. For how many years, these places have been stagnant. But then the administration was changed and now, their growth was very fast. A lot of new infrastructures were built, roads were repaired and new ones (national roads, farm to market roads, etc.) were made, and the lifestyle of the people have really improved. These have been mentioned in the SONA (not specifically our place) and many other improvements which others wonder if they’re all true, but I believe they were true for I’ve experienced some, heard stories from my friends and acquaintances, read them in the newspaper and saw them on television. Though there were some results stated that were not accomplished yet, which I think the president was not knowledgeable about because as I’ve mentioned in the first paragraph, he has no direct control on the different agencies. They might tell lies just to cope up with the tasks given to them.
Well, moving on with the SONA, I want to talk about the highlight which has been criticized by many. They said that this approach was just a show to get the sympathy of the people which I think was slightly true. But of course, we must not judge without knowing the story of the other side to prevent biased judgment. As I have heard the statement of the Aquino sisters, and remembered the story of PNoy, I have understood the emotions shown. The challenges they’ve faced during Marcos regime was not really easy but it doesn’t really matter in a State of the Nations Address.
So, let’s move on to the militants’ side. As usual, the Commonwealth Ave. was flooded with protesters (7,500) to fight for what they think were right. They tried to destroy the barricade made by the security forces but they failed to do it, so the protest ended up peacefully compared to the previous protests. I don’t have much idea why these militants gave a lot of money, time and effort in their protests instead of using them in better ways. I believe they did those things only for their benefits without thinking of the big picture. They must remember that our country is composed of many sectors that contribute to the country’s growth that the government was also considering. Instead of wasting their time with their movement, why won’t they just listen to the SONA and act right in accordance with the law to achieve the goal of the administration where everybody can benefit? That goal is the complete “transformation” that will lead to the rise of our nation.
