A most detailed SONA from the president!

I'm sure that the whole nation stopped on its tracks at 4:30PM to hear the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) on nationwide tv. While it was quite a lengthy address, let me say it here that it was the first time we've heard a SONA that isn't full of motherhood statements that usually litter the SONAs of presidents past. Perhaps what brought about this change is the change in leadership in the Senate, which is now safely in the hands of Senate President Manny Villar.

Basically, the President was in a very good mood! Her report to the nation started with her lauding the Congress for its courage to enact laws on fiscal reform, despite their unpopularity. This is why the President made the claim that the country now has the money to pay our debts, strengthen the government so it could deliver the basic needs to our people - fight insurgency, terrorism and lawlessness. But the President just didn't stop in thanking the Filipino people for their continued support of her government.

With this new money, it would use new technology to fight graft and corruption, matching grants to fund constitutional and electoral reforms. But the longest standing ovation she got from the audience was when she said that she would "Give back power to the people and the Regions." This was the first hint to Federalism. That brought down the house filled with governors, mayors and other local government unit leaders. All told, the audience interrupted the President with 165 applauses during the SONA.

What took most of her address was the great detail she gave to the proposed Super Regions. This made her SONA the most detailed that we've ever heard from any President! The North Luzon Super Region will focus on agribusiness where we first got another glimpse or hint of Federalism. When she first mentioned the word Federalism in the context of the Super Regions that got a lot of people on their feet applauding the President. Federalism no doubt will soon become a reality in this country and hopefully before the end of her political career, we shall see a Federalized Philippines.

Of course, it wasn't a perfect SONA. For instance the call to cut the bureaucracy of red tape is a call that almost all Presidents have made in their respective SONAs. How this can be achieved, I really do not know. But if our government officials only decided to cut red tape even in half that should be more than enough. But at least the effort is still there. If you didn't know, cutting red tape is a Presidential mandate to all Regional Directors and this would be checked by the Office of the Ombudsman. So let's see if the presence of the Ombudsman would scare our local leaders into action.

Most notable in the Presidential address is her desire to end the insurgency with renewed vigilance. She gave tribute to Gen. Jovito Palparan, dubbed by the Communists a "Butcher". Perhaps because his unit has killed more NPAs than any other military unit. With the national leadership committed to this goal of eliminating the Communist threat, I believe that we shall see the day when the people who have gone to the hills would come down and join the rest of the Filipino people in rebuilding this nation into a better country, run hopefully by a better people.

While we have already heard about the Super Regions, we now know that the President is serious in pushing this, giving funds where it is most needed. For Central Philippines, which include Cebu, Negros, Panay, Palawan, Masbate, Romblon, Bicol and Northern Luzon, a new proposal I first heard in the SONA was the Central Nautical Highway. This would link up Northern Mindanao with a Roll-on, Roll-off ports from Camiguin, Bohol, Cebu, Masbate, Marinduque to Lucena City. If this plan pushes through, it would promote new entrepreneurs to develop these still undeveloped routes.

Mindanao also would focus on Agribusiness and efforts to conduct peace with the Muslim separatists have started to bear fruit. But like us in Central Philippines, Mindanao too would develop much faster when we finally embrace Federalism, something that most people in Mindanao want to have right away. Right now, what we heard from the President is merely a prelude to Federalism. I look at this with some optimism, that finally Malacañang is no longer scared to use 'Federal' in their pronouncements.

As Pres. Arroyo stressed, "Knowledge is the greatest creator of wealth... your government is working... and working well." She asked Congress to pass the bill to automate our election process hopefully so as not to repeat the ugliness of the 2004 elections. Finally she asked everyone, to join hands in facing the biggest challenge of all... "The battle for our survival and progress of our one and only country." Let's see if the opposition agrees.

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