Aquino III’s Redundancy
By Joanne de Lara
July 30, 2010
Less has been said and much is still left hanging after President Benigno Aquino III delivered his first State of the Nation Address (SONA). Similar to his inaugural speech, his SONA rhetoric does not show a grasp of holistic development for the country. Truth is, he merely enumerated some of the Arroyo administration’s blunders without laying down measures on how to prevent the repetition of these errors. His speech made us hate a person which we already hated. What’s the point then? Gaining sympathy from those who do not believe in him?
To begin with, agrarian reform, which is his weakest point, was never touched. Instead he discussed the over-importation of rice in 2004 and 2007. It is important to let these facts be known but the point is how his administration is going to address such issues. He failed to explicate if there is really a need to import rice in the first place. What if we improve the technology used by the farmers? What if we give them the lands they are tilling right now? Would this increase agricultural productivity and thus eliminate the “need” for rice importation?
He also talked about the extravagant perks of MWSS officials, the government’s clumsy move regarding the MRT and Napocor, and the funding of the rehabilitation facilities for typhoon victims which did not undergo public bidding. Some say that there is no need to reiterate on these things for these are already known by the people. What the Filipinos need to know is his clear plan of action – his plans on how his administration will address the problems he enumerated.
More than that, he needs to provide the people with enough information on the real state of the nation for that is the essence of a SONA. What about the peace process? He said that he is going to address this during his first 100 days but what’s happening? And what is his stand on the controversial freedom of information bill? Would he pay attention to surfacing the victims of enforced disappearances? The list goes on and on. I am not saying that what he said during his SONA is not important. My point here is there are other issues which are far more important and need immediate attention as against the issues he opted to focus on.
This is President Aquino’s second strike for playing safe. If some people have forgiven him for the gaps in his inaugural speech, he should have at least made up during his SONA. But just the same, his words lack substance and clarity. The direction towards his “daang matuwid” is still very hazy. Some may say that the president chooses not to lay down concrete plans of action so as not to disappoint the people should he fail to actuate what he said. Well, that’s playing safe indeed. Nonetheless, we should not forget that he already said things during his campaign – things that made the Filipinos who voted for him believe that he could save this country from further deterioration.
The challenge therefore remains the same: What he lacked in words, he should fill in with concrete actions and what he promised the Filipinos, he should fulfill. As long as the Aquino administration fails to pave way for a government which is truly for the people, the Filipino’s faith in the system will eventually vanish.