The SONA and political insensitivities
No doubt, it was the longest State of the Nation ever made by a President, which included a video presentation of what launched Pres. Benigno Aquino III into the Office of the President. I just wanted to know whether it was really necessary for the creators or the yellow propagandists in Malacañang to remind the Filipino people of the funeral of the late Pres. Cory Aquino, showing it in full color, as if it was one of the achievements of Pres. Aquino. But on the other hand, it reminded all of us that Pres. Aquino would never have run for the Presidency if his mother didn’t die at the precise time that the presidential election was nearing.
At the onset of his SONA, the President also revealed to the Filipino people that in all the six SONA’s that he has made in the past, he never learned enough about public speaking because he started his speech with an apology! Why don’t you Google the do’s and don’ts of public speaking and experts will tell you that the first lines of your speech is to make a good impression to your audience. Allow me to reprint something I got in Google.
“First, never, ever begin your speech with an apology. “I’m sorry that I’m late.” “I’m sorry, I haven’t been feeling well, so I’m sorry if my voice isn’t loud.” “I’m sorry I’m not wearing the right clothes.” “I’m sorry, but I’m really nervous.” An apology is a negative thing. An apology is about remorse, regret, sadness, and shame. Why in the world would an audience member want to listen to the rest of your speech if your first few minutes are heavily bogged down in all of that negativeness?” So in a nutshell, this is what Pres. PNoy’s SONA was all about… negativism!
Indeed, PNoy began his speech, looking once again at the past… blaming the nation’s woes to his predecessor, former Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo whom he caused to be incarcerated for five years now, yet the Sandiganbayan could not pin her down on the corruption charges filed against her because of lack of evidence. Yet, Pres. Aquino’s SONA went down on this sorry road, which in my book was totally unnecessary.
Of course, the President was applauded a hundred times when he was making his speech… after all, the not-so-hallowed Halls of Congress were filled with dirty, rotten politicians, many of whom benefited from being loyal to the Yellow Ribbon, which to many of us… isn’t a symbol of the Philippines, nor is it a symbol of a political party…but rather it is the symbol of people who are blindly loyal to the Aquino Family… under whose political reign has not pushed this nation to greater heights.
As The Philippine Star headlines yesterday blared, “P-Noy asks Bosses: Nurture Straight Path.” I don’t have to give you a litany of the many crooked lines that compose the President’s straight path and I ask you, why the hell should we nurture something that was never straight in the first place? In all candor, the President’s SONA was made for a specific audience, his allies in Congress. But the real state of the nation was outside the Batasan Pambansa Building, where hundreds of protesters clashed with truncheon bearing policemen. The militant left apparently had rallies in many cities in the Philippines.
If at all there is a saving grace… it is that the Philippine economy. Sure the economy may be robust today but it had to be because for nearly 30 years since the EDSA Revolution, the International Monetary Fund has imposed strict financial guidelines for the Filipino people who had no choice but to go into belt-tightening measures. Remember the times you could not get enough dollars for your travels abroad?
This nearly three-decade sacrifice has resulted in a better fiscal management by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. This is why the Philippines survived the 1987 Asian Financial crisis and the US Housing debacle of 2007. Consequently, we freed ourselves from the strict controls of the IMF. Mind you, all this is not due to any new policies that the Aquino Regime adopted. Pres. Aquino was just lucky it happened under his watch. You want to know more about this. Just check what is happening in Greece today.
Lastly, despite prior warnings of many concerned citizens, the wives of our political leaders still came out with their expensive plumage showing their sheer insensitivity to the plight of the Filipino people, where some 11 million still claim to be below the poverty line. Except for a few who own their own businesses, the majority of the wives of politicians earn their keep from the salaries of their elected husbands, many of whom were tagged in the ill-fated Disbursement Acceleration Program and the Priority Development Assistance Program a.k.a. Pork Barrel and should have been indicted by the Office of the Ombudsman.
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