There are only two kinds of people as far as the State of the Nation Address (or Sona, as Filipinos would love to reduce it) that Philippine President Gloria Arroyo delivered before a joint session of Congress last July 28.
They are those who saw nothing right in it and those who did not care if she delivered it or not. Those who saw nothing right in it are, of course, her enemies and usual belly-achers who have made a cottage industry out of protest. Those who didn’t care are the rest of us.
I missed catching the Sona on tv because of a commitment to attend a parents meeting at the school of my youngest daughter. I would have wanted to catch it, for no other reason than that, as a citizen, I felt it my duty to hear what my president said.
I did not have to like her. And I did not have to believe in her speech. But if that is what my country requires of every sitting president to make periodic reports on the state of the nation, then I would have loved to honor my country by obliging its desire.
Arroyo, it is said, is the most unpopular and most hated Philippine president ever. That is, of course, a very subjective statement, one that I do not find great comfort discussing. For while I find it to be true at the moment, it is something I cannot fully believe in.
I am not an Arroyo fan. I have never liked Arroyo. But liking has never been a factor in my choice of presidents. My vote always went to the one I felt most capable. And to me, the choice between Arroyo and Fernando Poe was simply a no-brainer.
Having voted for Arroyo, yet feeling betrayed by her failure to deliver on my great expectations, I now find myself in the uncomfortable situation of having to continue defending my choice in face of what I feel are very wrong reasons for me to dislike her even more.
Arroyo may be fairly considered a failure. Still, that does not permit, allow or justify her removal from office. And I have two very good reasons for this. Removal ultimately erodes the institution of elections. And the prospective replacements are far worse than she is.
With two more years to the end of her term, it is far more to our advantage to just try and ride out the storm than strike out in an unauthorized excursion to uncharted waters under the leadership of people who clearly cannot put their money where there mouths are.
Critics of Arroyo are very good at talking and criticizing. After all, badmouthing and back-stabbing never make them even remotely accountable in the same way that the president is, even for things that are clearly beyond her culpability, such as the weather.
It would be interesting to find out how these critics would fare if thrust into the same situation Arroyo now finds herself in. Would they be as strong as this woman is, or would they skitter away whimpering, their tails between their legs?
The ratings of Arroyo may have gone the way of the ostrich’s head, but that is just in the surveys. Surveys do not mean anything in a country like the Philippines. Just look at Joseph Estrada, the most popular president ever. Or Fidel Ramos, the minority president.
If there is anyone very consistent in the crazy Philippine political situation, it is the leftists and the rest of the Philippine protest cottage industry. There has never been any single president that they liked. But of course it will spell their demise if they do.
So where does that leave Arroyo. What she can do, since the only ones talking are those who do not like her, is to prepare to even sink up to her nostrils and hope 2010 swings around faster than slower. Then, when it does, to just pack up and go.
If she goes now, willingly or unwillingly, we will all be in a situation we will all regret later. We are in this boat together. Arroyo may not be the best captain but she is our only captain. Those waiting in the wings have yet to seek authority in 2010.