The State of OUR Nation.
July 25, 2006– a day filled with promises; a serenade coming from her Excellency. She paints an imagery of an ideal Philippines as she envisions it to be. While giving her fellowmen a glimpse of what has yet to come, she fronts that of a strong republic, stable and unshakable.
Are we truly what we can call a strong republic? Does the state of our country truly agree with what was mentioned at the Batasang Pambansa? How will she fund all the projects she has set out to do for the remainder of her term? As Mrs. Arroyo addresses the nation, her critics, as well as some members of the business sector, have come up with these queries as a result of their skepticism. Her enthusiasts, on the other hand, soothed the presidents ears with applaud, resonating within the complex. So many views, so many reactions, but at the same time, so much to do for the progress of our country. Our president gave all the social classes what they wanted to hear. For the landed gentry (as well as the administration politicians), she gave them an overwhelming list of her future endeavors for the betterment of the country. As a result, the upper classmen wouldn’t think twice of supporting her projects and forget about the political insurgence hurled against her. The president needs their support. The question is, would they go fall for this? The middle class was given such a treat! Parts of this were the never-ending reiteration of additional employment and the development of our provinces to generate income for our country. Mrs. Arroyo needs to lure the middle class, for the silent majority lies within this social class. A large movement against her coming from the silent majority could bring about a major threat to her seat of power. Thing is, would they go for it? Lastly, the SONA also catered to the lower class. A part of the president’s address was to enumerate those that have given great pride and honor to the country. They were given an image of the Philippines as one that achieves in the international arena. It would make the masa feel a sense of nationalism and that of great accomplishment, as she would probably want them to feel. But would they go for it as well?
My thoughts are simple. There are strong points the president brought up, as well as points where it was obvious that she was trying to cover some things up. The president wouldn’t utter so much about her future projects, if her cabinet, which includes her financial advisor, did not back these up. I am quite confident that all these projects were thoroughly studied and given the go signal by her constituents. The president isn’t stupid to say such things just for the sake of the crowd’s applause. She knows for a fact that all the promises she made were recorded and will be checked from time to time. The 2% increase in our taxes (from 10% to 12%), as the undersecretary of finance said, is already sufficient to make these projects happen and there is no need to increase the taxes once again. There was a comment made by one of the opposition congressmen on how low the percentage drop in terms of unemployment rate, fiscal deficit rate, etc. as the president was talking about in her SONA. Sadly, the congressman has already been blinded by his own predisposition to get PGMA out of office. A drop from a sixty plus to a forty plus percentage is already a notable improvement in terms of unemployment. Looking at it in a macro perspective, this is already a big change. Progress is on its way, according to PGMA’s SONA. One of the two opposition senators who were present during the SONA said that GMA didn’t report on the TRUE state of the Philippines. According to her, she didn’t mention the political killings, the increasing prices of all the good and services, etc. which is what the country is facing right now. True. The President was too focused on the future (which is good in a way), but forgot, or maybe “intentionally” forgot, the pressing matters of the country today. I would have given her more credit if she confronted the negative issues head on, or at least literally pointed out each of her project proposals as concrete solutions for today’s problems (if that’s what she was trying to do). We do not live in a perfect world; I would have understood it if she also brought up the things that make our country “imperfect”. She didn’t want to talk about political issues. Fine. But when citizen’s lives and their freedom are already at stake, it goes beyond that. She should have said something about it and not just ignored such controversial issues. Her speech was very direct and specific, but the specifics only talked about what she would do in the future. What about situations that need solutions NOW? (But as I commented earlier, unless those were already the solutions she gave for today’s issues)
The majority complain of how hard life is, but this isn’t a problem secluded only in our society, it is happening globally. You see, we cannot be dependent on the president for our specific needs. In any organization, the head may have the best plans lined up for his people, but if the body doesn’t have enough sense to take the initiative to participate, no progress will take place.
It is still up YOU, not HER.
Are we truly what we can call a strong republic? Does the state of our country truly agree with what was mentioned at the Batasang Pambansa? How will she fund all the projects she has set out to do for the remainder of her term? As Mrs. Arroyo addresses the nation, her critics, as well as some members of the business sector, have come up with these queries as a result of their skepticism. Her enthusiasts, on the other hand, soothed the presidents ears with applaud, resonating within the complex. So many views, so many reactions, but at the same time, so much to do for the progress of our country. Our president gave all the social classes what they wanted to hear. For the landed gentry (as well as the administration politicians), she gave them an overwhelming list of her future endeavors for the betterment of the country. As a result, the upper classmen wouldn’t think twice of supporting her projects and forget about the political insurgence hurled against her. The president needs their support. The question is, would they go fall for this? The middle class was given such a treat! Parts of this were the never-ending reiteration of additional employment and the development of our provinces to generate income for our country. Mrs. Arroyo needs to lure the middle class, for the silent majority lies within this social class. A large movement against her coming from the silent majority could bring about a major threat to her seat of power. Thing is, would they go for it? Lastly, the SONA also catered to the lower class. A part of the president’s address was to enumerate those that have given great pride and honor to the country. They were given an image of the Philippines as one that achieves in the international arena. It would make the masa feel a sense of nationalism and that of great accomplishment, as she would probably want them to feel. But would they go for it as well?
My thoughts are simple. There are strong points the president brought up, as well as points where it was obvious that she was trying to cover some things up. The president wouldn’t utter so much about her future projects, if her cabinet, which includes her financial advisor, did not back these up. I am quite confident that all these projects were thoroughly studied and given the go signal by her constituents. The president isn’t stupid to say such things just for the sake of the crowd’s applause. She knows for a fact that all the promises she made were recorded and will be checked from time to time. The 2% increase in our taxes (from 10% to 12%), as the undersecretary of finance said, is already sufficient to make these projects happen and there is no need to increase the taxes once again. There was a comment made by one of the opposition congressmen on how low the percentage drop in terms of unemployment rate, fiscal deficit rate, etc. as the president was talking about in her SONA. Sadly, the congressman has already been blinded by his own predisposition to get PGMA out of office. A drop from a sixty plus to a forty plus percentage is already a notable improvement in terms of unemployment. Looking at it in a macro perspective, this is already a big change. Progress is on its way, according to PGMA’s SONA. One of the two opposition senators who were present during the SONA said that GMA didn’t report on the TRUE state of the Philippines. According to her, she didn’t mention the political killings, the increasing prices of all the good and services, etc. which is what the country is facing right now. True. The President was too focused on the future (which is good in a way), but forgot, or maybe “intentionally” forgot, the pressing matters of the country today. I would have given her more credit if she confronted the negative issues head on, or at least literally pointed out each of her project proposals as concrete solutions for today’s problems (if that’s what she was trying to do). We do not live in a perfect world; I would have understood it if she also brought up the things that make our country “imperfect”. She didn’t want to talk about political issues. Fine. But when citizen’s lives and their freedom are already at stake, it goes beyond that. She should have said something about it and not just ignored such controversial issues. Her speech was very direct and specific, but the specifics only talked about what she would do in the future. What about situations that need solutions NOW? (But as I commented earlier, unless those were already the solutions she gave for today’s issues)
The majority complain of how hard life is, but this isn’t a problem secluded only in our society, it is happening globally. You see, we cannot be dependent on the president for our specific needs. In any organization, the head may have the best plans lined up for his people, but if the body doesn’t have enough sense to take the initiative to participate, no progress will take place.
It is still up YOU, not HER.
posted by miks @ 7:19 PM
2 Comments:
hi tae!
aba, nag-post ulit!
you know, you write so well. i never knew. i have newfound admiration for you...
pero TAE ka pa rin!
mwahmwah!
finally!
an update!
hehehe.
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