PRESIDENT Aquino talked about the strength of the Filipino people at his last and longest State of the Nation Address (Sona).
In effect, he reawakened our sense of nationalism. His clear, concise and thought-provoking address was imbued with patriotic fervor.
As a Filipino, I appreciated the President’s efforts to promote love of country, especially since the Philippines, in 2008, was “the worst rated country in terms of perceived corruption for two consecutive years, based on the annual survey by the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy,” according to a report that appeared on PCIJ.org.
No wonder many Filipinos harbor resentment and bitterness; the President himself said, “With this kind of situation, can we really blame our countrymen for losing sight of hope, and consequently, leaving our country?”
When he first assumed office, President Aquino’s method of effecting positive change began
when he chose to travel without the aid of wang-wang or sirens that motorcycle escorts used while accompanying a highranking government official on the road. It was the first act that
came to symbolize the President’s daang matuwid (straight path) policy: no special treatment,
everyone is equal.
Reform was seen in the judiciary when Conchita CarpioMorales and Ma. Lourdes Sereno were appointed Ombudsman and Supreme Court Chief Justice, respectively. And then there was Grace Pulido-Tan in the Commission on Audit, Kim Henares in the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Leila de Lima in the Department of Justice. Coincidentally, these appointees to powerful positions are all women.
Comments
Other changes were seen in the economy, education, health, infrastructure and the military.
However, not everybody agreed with what the President said in his Sona. Here are some comments from young people:
“I’ve always wondered: What would P-Noy grade himself?”
—Brent International School Manila student
“Sona 2015? So Ano Na?”
—Anonymous, Entrepreneur
School of Asia
“From a student’s point of view, I wish he didn’t mention who made his barong and instead thank the people who actually helped him gain power.”—Isabel,Everest Academy
“During and after the Sona, I was on Twitter. One criticism that I also agree with is… P-Noy
did not have to bash the past administrations and bring in controversies… from GMA’s term.
However, I do believe that in order to fix the present problems, we need to look into the past [so as] not to repeat the [same] mistakes.”—John, freshman at Brent International School Manila
‘Only the beginning’
It was really noticeable that the President did not admit mistakes that the current administration may have committed.
Instead, he was quick to blame the previous administration on the things still preventing the country to tread the daang matuwid.
Nobody is perfect, but it would have been admirable if the Aquino administration admitted its shortcomings. In the case of Super Typhoon “Yolanda,” for example, there was a relatively slow response from
government, including relief efforts.
Likewise, the President avoided any mention of the Priority Development Assistance Fund mess in which more politicians are set to be indicted.
Furthermore, the President also omitted some things on the passage of the Freedom of Information
Bill, which aims to stop corruption in the bureaucracy by giving the people access
to government transactions and records.
Nevertheless, President Aquino was right in saying that the government’s achievements were “only the beginning,” despite the nearing of the end of his term. The fact is, his administration has helped
the country grow in ways once thought impossible and
unimaginable.
Given the pros and cons, one thing that I believe we can all agree on is, to paraphrase the
President’s martyred father, Ninoy Aquino, the Filipino is and will always be “worth fighting for.”
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