So what do you think of the SONA?

Much has been said about President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s recent State of the Nation Address which started the 12th session of the houses of Congress. But at the end of the day, we all hope our leaders in the executive and the legislative branches of the government use the SONA impetus to buckle down to work.

The President is both an economist and a perfectionist, so I don’t think she set unrealistic goals and target dates without having studied them very well. Let us give her a chance to achieve these goals designed to alleviate the suffering of the masses mired in poverty. If our President falls short of the targets she has set, then let us exercise our right to be heard; let us give voice to our criticisms. However, we must be wary of making noise without offering solutions.

Palawan Congressman Baham Mitra, Assistant Minority Floor Leader, LDP: I feel that the SONA has set the policy thrust of the Arroyo government for the next three years. Most, if not all her goals, are doable and I hope that these targets could be achieved in the soonest possible time to rescue us from the current economic problem and get us on the road to recovery. As a member of the majority, I am willing to work for the achievement of these targets.

Luis Jl Virata, investment banker: I thought the President’s speech was excellent! It stated all her objectives and visions clearly. She wants to get rid of red tape. She wants the government to get going through sheer hard work and effort. What really hit me in her speech was when she said that for the sake of the country and our people, we have to put politics aside for one year. Pro or con, this struck a chord. It seems that the spirits of our people have fallen so low that their confidence has been virtually destroyed. One way or another, we have to set aside our differences and give ourselves a chance to move forward. That is the correct thing to do.

Sabin Aboitiz, businessman: It was straight to the point and very understandable, especially the "opening of drawers" and her moving to the Department of Agriculture. She gave a speech that was deeply understood and direct to the point – very, very good. And she is leading a pack of Cabinet members who I think are very, very qualified and just as hard working as she is, so I’m very sure she will reach her targets.

Sorsogon Congressman Francis Escudero, NPC: The President made a lot of promises and set out her work for the rest of the year. Hopefully with the help of Congress, with the help of people in the government we would be able to achieve those targets in the next year.

In particular, I like her tax efficiency and tax collection program, while I don’t quite agree with her program in agriculture – particularly her rice policy. But I’m with her in trying to achieve those goals within the year.

Atom Henares, businessman: I thought it was very great! Obviously she wanted a great start. She wanted a fresh start. She looks very determined and I think she will be able to do it.

Senate President Franklin Drilon, PPC: She did not gloss over the problems. She admitted that we have problems and she has specific visions and therefore we have our work cut out for all of us.

Pangasinan Congressman Mark Cojuangco, NPC: Maraming points na binanggit, eh. Hindi ko pa na-digest sa dami ng points. I think I have to listen to the recording and make an evaluation. Maraming maganda na dapat matupad.

Quezon City Vice Mayor Herbert Bautista, Pwersa ng Masa: Heartwarming. Well, what we are expecting is yong action and very importante na talagang matigil ang corruption sa gobyerno by streamlining at pati na yong dadaanan na red tape ay mabawasan. Only then will we be able to achieve what is expected from the SONA, hopefully by July next year.

Jamby Madrigal, child advocate and TV host, former Secretary for Youth Affairs, Estrada Government, senatorial candidadte, Pwersa ng Masa: Obviously she hasn’t sat long enough to give us the true State of the Nation. I hope that what she promised she would fulfill because her vision is good.

Brother Rolando Dizon, FSC, president, De La Salle University: The general tone of the SONA was hopeful and challenging. The very specific and measurable targets are good; they give a yardstick with which to evaluate the government’s performance within a one-year framework.

Let’s all support GMA in this critical period.

Nur Misuari: It was an excellent speech. What I liked about it was the elevation and the enhancement of the quality of life of the people and, of course, Mindanao. The only thing that I found lacking was the GRP OIC-MILF peace agreement. She did not say one word about that. I don’t know why, maybe she just overlooked it.

Senator Rodolfo Biazon, LDP: I think it’s good that she set a target for everyone – for the executive and legislative – to go for. However, some of her targets are a far reach – especially for agriculture. I think the President set a modest target for housing – 150,000 compared to the Ramos government which targeted 200,000 a year, and the 355,000 of Erap. But even that figure would be difficult to realize if the SSS, Pag-Ibig and Land Bank are not able to supply the needed funding.

I am wondering if she can generate one million jobs for agriculture. I wish she was able to explain this some more.

Some of what she was asking for, like the Department of Housing, I had filed during my first and second terms as senator but nothing happened. So now for the third time I together with Congressman Ruffy Biazon for the Lower House have filed it. I hope with her prompting it will finally become law this time around.

Zamboanga Mayor Clara Lobregat, LDP: Very good, very good. Well, the President really showed how concerned she is about the poor.

The three kids who wrote her a letter were there. But she realized she has to address not only their needs but the whole country’s – including the attainment of peace. I’m confident she would be able to achieve the goals she has set.

Congressman Teddy "Boy" Locsin, PDP Laban: What do I think of the SONA? I thought it was perfect for what she wanted to achieve – send a plain and common-sense message of the huge things that needed to be done to make a perceptible difference in the lives of the vast number of the utterly poor in our society – those who do not have the luxury of being able to ride out the recession but must fight for survival on a daily basis. Sure this SONA hasn’t the nobility of Mrs. Aquino’s speeches but then those were noble times. Even the problems were epic then and armies moved in the night to decide in the darkness the fate of freedom. Those times called for epic qualities – like raw physical courage, contempt for danger and spoken lines straight out of Shakespeare. These are ordinary times but of extraordinary hardships. There are no grand solutions or grand themes around which to build solutions or rally support – like the Cold War between communist faith and democratic freedom. No one can stand again before the joint houses of the US Congress assembled and invoke to such stirring effect the lost sons and treasure in America’s most recent but also most tragic fight for freedom – the Vietnam War. I mean we were talking the Iliad then, with Andromache on the ramparts of Troy.

The fight now is ignoble, small time, degrading. It involves businessmen, not historical factors. It is not the result of contending faiths and commanding visions but of plain ordinary human greed – the greed of an oil cartel in gouging the public with escalating gasoline price increases, the greed of the electric cartel in shoving some P600 billion in bad loans and business mistakes in that scale. All the Filipino farmers who ever borrowed money defaulted on only P5 billion in loans, whereas businessmen...well, what do you expect...if you’re stupid you take up commerce, instead of law or medicine or biochemistry.

To such ordinary greed, albeit in extraordinary proportions, the answer, as Gloria Arroyo put it, is plain talk and common sense. For example, common sense dictates that the answer to the greed of the banks speculating against the peso is a criminal investigation by the BIR and the Bangko Sentral. Although I am not holding my breath.

I like the speech for its simplicity and comprehensiveness. Plus, she had obviously internalized it and was very comfortable with it. It was not, however, an economist’s speech for it contained no economic analysis whatsoever. It was a manager’s speech as shown by the deadlines, time lines she demanded. Economists do not deal with time but with trends.

Former Vice President Salvador Laurel: I think it was an understatement of the problems we are facing. But we need a very strong, righteous type of leadership, so I hope she would be able to do all this for the sake of our country.