Less politics in SONA — Palace

President Arroyo will speak more about economics and less politics when she delivers her State of the Nation Address (SONA) before a joint session of Congress on July 24, Malacañang said yesterday.

Presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor said Mrs. Arroyo’s SONA would be "reflective of the normalizing situation in the country, where you see much diminished threats and increasing economic and political stability."

"I think we would be seeing more of the country’s economic prospects and what we all must do as a nation after achieving solid gains in our economic reforms," he said in a telephone interview. "The SONA, I think, would touch more on economic issues than on political issues."

However, Defensor said Mrs. Arroyo will press for political reforms, particularly the need to amend the Constitution to shift the form of government to a unicameral parliamentary system, lift restrictive economic provisions and to implement judicial and electoral reforms.

Defensor did not say whether Mrs. Arroyo would reiterate her call to Congress to convene itself into a constituent assembly or push for a people’s initiative to propose amendments to the Constitution.

Another top Palace official said Mrs. Arroyo could also appeal for less politicking and rally the people for national unity.

"She’s expected to deal at length with strategies for national development, growth and competitiveness, subtly urging focus on harnessing the country’s economic potentials rather than being consumed by wasteful and destructive politics," the official said.

Last month, Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo said Mrs. Arroyo has begun drafting the blueprint of an ambitious economic plan, dividing the country into four "supra-regions," where details of the strategy would be announced in her SONA.

Saludo said the blueprint would be finalized after Mrs. Arroyo presides over several joint Cabinet-Regional Development Council meetings with local officials from "North Luzon, Metro Luzon, Central Philippines, and Mindanao."

"The SONA vision should come from the perspective of regional development councils as my partners in governance," he quoted Mrs. Arroyo as saying in a recent Cabinet meeting, where she first announced her plan to create four regional groupings.

The economic blueprint would form a major part of Mrs. Arroyo’s SONA to reflect "the increased confidence in the country, generated by our fiscal reforms, in the growing stability and progress in our country at this time," Saludo said. — Paolo Romero