The Fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Noynoy Aquino
After four years in his seat, President Benigno Simeon “PNoy” Aquino III delivered his fourth annual State of the Nations Address (SONA) on July 22,2013 at the Batasang Pambansa Complex, Quezon City with the theme, “ Sa Gitna ng Daang Matuwid “, pertaining to his third year in presidency.
The SONA also marked the opening of the 16th Congress in a joint session of both houses. Compared to his previous SONAs, the recent has been the longest he had given so far, earning 88 rounds of applause from Senators, Congressmen, government officials, local and international media, other dignitaries and other important personalities across the country.
The SONA was said to be very comprehensive, covering a lot of areas which include the current administration’s accomplishments on economic and political aspects. The president also expressed his praises for those public servants and government departments for their outstanding performances in the battle against corruption, and his dismay to those corrupt officials and erring government agencies through verbal criticisms.
In his SONA 2013, he highlighted 25 key issues which includes the Expansion of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), Strengthening of the agricultural sector, Appeal to fishers, Distribution of Hacienda Luisita land, Extension of PhilHealth coverage, Protecting Filipinos from natural calamities, Solving the problem of floods, Housing for cops and soldiers, Amendment of SSS Pension Scheme, Strengthening the police force, Probe into Ozamiz Gang killing, Mindanao peace process, More caution in government contracts, Removal of informal settlers from high-risk areas, Sin Tax Reform and Responsible Parenthood laws, Proposed 2014 National Budget, Possible MRT/LRT fare hike, Improved irrigation system for farmers, Public-Private Partnership projects, Brownouts in Mindanao, Renovation of NAIA 3, Solving Metro Manila's traffic, 'Best Tourism Destination of 2012', Dividends from GOCCs, and Resurgence of PHL economy. It has been three years since majority of Filipino voters elected the son of the so-called “heroes” into the highest office in the land and once again, he faced everyone to tackle and address the issues of the country during his leadership. The main issues mentioned above where obviously those he thought were good accomplishments. In fact, the statistics he presented on almost all of those really increased and was impressive which he was proud to say that his administration had done something good for the country and its people. If we take a look at the bright side of things, based on the increase and improvements for example on our agricultural sector, the tourist visit on both foreign and domestic, the benefit of 4Ps, will really tell that there were indeed good changes and better management of the Philippines in his 3 years of service. But on the second thought, the culture of impunity remains alive and well under his presidency. The State of the Nation Address should not only be about what you did good for the country and the people, it should also be about being honest, admitting your flaws and expressing your plans on how to treat those issues because SONA is supposed to be what you can address the entire nation whether it’s good or bad. When we take a look at the back of those accomplishments that he presented, we can really see lots of issues that should be addressed more like the unresolved case of the Maguindanao massacre, the unemployment rate, the other side of 4Ps, Philippines’ territorial disputes with our Asian neighbors like China and Malaysia, US Military’s usage of Subic in their military services and many more. When people go through President Aquino’s previous SONAs, they will find that some of the stuff that he claimed he already achieved was still on the drawing board. They appeared to remain as still plans because he kept on focusing too much on the wrong set of priorities and gone about achieving his goals the wrong way like prioritizing the impeachment of ex-Chief Justice Renato Corona instead of solving the Maguindanao Massacre case where 56 people died. He then granted the position of new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to his longtime friend and former classmate, Maria Lourdes Sereno even when there were candidates more qualified for the position. Despite all these unveiled issues during SONA 2013, it is still good to know that somehow, he is trying to make a name for the country and his accomplishments were the fruit of his and his administration’s leadership and hard work.President Aquino’s ending statement is also very commendable which he expressed how proud he was to be a Filipino and encouraged everyone to be proud also. He said,"Ipinagmamalaki ko sa buong mundo, Pilipino ako. Napakasarap maging Pilipino sa panahong ito." You can’t really please everybody. It is also important that we support our leaders too so that they will implement their plans and projects easily. Let’s just hope that his plans will be realized before his term will end in 2016 because as the saying goes, “Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work”.
