Noynoy's SONAlysis

I was looking forward to hearing Noynoy’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), held last July 25, 2011. Although I’m not an avid fan of his administration, my primary purpose of hearing his speech is not because I want to have something to rant about, but I simply want to hear what he has to say, how he will justify his current decisions in an attempt to salvage our nation from destruction.

Furthermore, I have a powerful urge to share my own two cents about the current issues concerning the Philippines, and the President’s SONA would be the perfect foundation to build my analysis on.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to hear his words, as I was supposed to travel to UP Diliman, a three hours’ trip from my humble home in Cavite. Although I would’ve wanted to hear his address with my own ears, well, I couldn’t be too choosy now, could I? I simply read the full transcript of his SONA in this website: Link

(Of course I had the choice of watching his SONA in the Internet, but the thrill is already gone. For this reason, and because of the desire to save time, I chose not to watch his SONA.)

I strongly suggest that you read the whole address first (the length might be daunting, but it’s quite understandable), so as to dispel any accusations of my proselytizing the readers of this article without letting them read Noynoy’s SONA first (although I swear that that’s not even my intention in the first place). But if the address is quite tl;dr to you (tl;dr – too long; didn’t read; a meme), I have provided a pretty succinct summary of his SONA below.

I now assume that you’ve read the address, or at least got hold of the juiciest parts. Now, without further ado, I shall begin my analysis of Benigno Aquino III’s State of the Nation Address.

I must praise Aquino’s decision to deliver his address in Filipino, the national language of the Philippines. It is only fitting that the masses which are not that knowledgeable in the English language still gain the benefit of completely understanding the goings-on in our country, something our native tongue can provide. Aquino recognized this necessity, and this is worth commending.

Moving on, Aquino began his speech with the “Wang-wang” issue the Philippines used to face. Wang-wang used to be a pain in the neck of us Filipinos, when government officials excessively used the sirens on their vehicles so that they can move across traffic without problems, causing annoyance in the part of the normal citizens, especially since such officials do not have the privilege to do so. Aquino purported that only the President, Vice-President, Senate President, House Speaker, Chief of Justice, policemen, firemen and ambulances are allowed to use sirens. In any case, Noynoy seemed to be successful in ridding the Philippines of this major road annoyance.

Noynoy then related the Wang-wang issue to the bigger problems of our society. He treated the Wang-wang as a symbol of abuse, and that there are wang-wangs in our government and society. Noynoy gave a strong emphasis on his desire to cleanse his administration of these abusers and on his sympathy with the citizens, even referring to them as his “boss” in the beginning of his speech. After this sentiment, Noynoy quickly proceeded to the technical stuff, which means I have to go technical as well.

Noynoy, through the course of his first year in office, claimed to have achieved the following:

1. Lowered the hunger rate from 20.5% (March, 2011) to 15.1% (June, 2011)

2. Exceeded the stock market’s “all-time-high” at least seven times

3. Gained four upgrades in credit ratings, (by powers like Moody’s, Standard and Poors, Fitch, Japan Credit Ratings Agency) leading to a decrease in debt interest and ample funds for his Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program

4. Gained more investors (140 companies) in the energy sector (for exploration and strengthening of alternative energy sources)

5. Implemented zero-based budgeting and investigated anomalous project expeditures, effectively exposing excessive spending of some government sectors (e.g., Laguna Lake dredging)

6. Has destroyed the “padrino” system of some sectors, particularly the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), saving about two and half billion pesos

7. Reduced rice shortage from 1.3 million metric tons to 660,000 metric tons

8. Irrigated 11,611 hectares of land; improved 212,000 hectares of underutilized land

9. Raised rice production to 15.6% the previous year

10. Gave four thousand Certificate of Entitlement to Lot Allocation to policemen and soldiers, giving them satisfactory shelters

11. Purchased the Hamilton Class Cutter, a modern ship to empower the coastal defences

12. Reduced the cases of car-napping from 1010 from the first half of 2010, to 460 in the first half of this year

13. Removed the Philippines from Tier 2 of US Trafficking in Persons Report Watchlist, ensuring the receiving of grants from Millennium Challenge Corporation

14. Reduced the unemployment rate from 8% to 7.2% in a span of one year

15. Created 1,400,000 jobs in the previous year

16. 1,600,000 out of 2,000,000 families registered in the “Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino” program received benefits

17. Implemented the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction, ensuring that the benefits of PhilHealth were given into the right hands of 5,200,000 families

18. Improvement of roads (e.g., Barangay Bagumbayan, Sta. Maria, Laguna)

19. Distribution of clear water to rural areas (e.g., Barangay Poblacion, Ferrol, Romblon)

20. Distribution of electricity to more areas (e.g., Barangay San Marcos, Bunawan, Agusan del Sur)

He also emphasized in his address the plans he, together with his administration has for the upcoming years, while stating, in a highly rhetorical manner, that we’re still on the “straight path” towards socio-economic prosperity. He has also discussed in his SONA the ongoing projects and researches, which are highly expected to benefit the citizenry in the upcoming months or years.

1. He expects to save about six to seven billion pesos through his actions regarding DPWH.

2. He expects that we’ll reach investment grade through continuous upgrades in credit ratings.

3. He plans to extend his housing projects to Visayas and Mindanao; this includes the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, as well as the Bureau of Fire Protection.

4. He plans to make our country self-sufficient in terms of rice production.

5. He expects to purchase more helicopters, patrol crafts and weapons to further empower the Philippine military.

6. He expects that more jobs will be created in the Philippines.

7. He expects that the combined efforts of Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Department of Education (DEPED) will solve the problem of job mismatch.

8. He plans to extend his projects to the separatist Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

9. There are now studies on how to make tree-guarding efficient and beneficial for the community.

10. There are now concepts of modern mosquito traps, new uses for coconut fibers, landslide sensors, as well as devices that can detect overflowing of rivers.

11. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) as well as the University of the Philippines (UP) is conducting studies on economical monorail systems.

12. He envisions the proper compensations for the victims of the Martial Law.

13. He envisions the expansion of DOST’s scholarships for underprivileged students.

14. He envisions a stronger health care system.

15. He supports an environmentalist approach and the development of facilities that are safe for the citizens.

16. He is for empowering the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), National Electrification Administration (NEA), and the National Broadcasting Network (NBN; PTV 4).

17. He ensures that the perpetrators of corruption will be brought to justice.

Aside from these points, Noynoy’s SONA simply became a testament of how brilliant he is when it comes to appealing to the emotions of the public. His words were full to the brim with encouragement. One could even imagine that his voice as he uttered these words was teeming with an optimistic disposition, so as to truly convince the populace that we are still on the “straight path,” towards a better future.

Nonetheless, for the sake of optimism, let us give Noynoy some credit for what he has done. Anyway, anyone first year in office is inevitably the “experimental” phase, where one is just getting used to governing the whole nation, and I somehow appreciate the fact that Noynoy seems to employ a gradualist approach in trying to address the conflicts in our nation, fairly ensuring that societal anarchy would not occur.

Then again, I still know better. Tell me; is SONA only about the bragging of the good or semi-good things that you’ve done during your service? Is this important address only addresses the cleaner side of his administration? As far as I know, SONA just means “State of the Nation Address.” What does this mean? It means that we are supposed to discuss not only the good stuff that came our way, but also the evils that currently plague our motherland, which happens to be the more important. Only through the recognition of the anomalies running rampant in our country (of course together with the good stuff) can we truly address the state of the nation.

However, this is not how I saw Noynoy’s address. Yes, he spoke in Filipino, yes, he seemed to have done a number of productive things (although I’ve yet to ascertain their authenticity), but those feats aren’t enough to satisfy me. For instance, anyone who’s amply informed about the condition of the Philippines would notice that he held back a good number of issues from the public ears. While I read the transcript of his speech, I was really expecting that he will address all of the problems our country is currently facing (and of course come up with concrete and comprehensive solutions), but apparently, the SONA will always be used to beautify one’s reputation in front of many spectators. But I should have known better; to my utter disappointment, he didn’t even allude to a number of grave problems that received great attention from the public. Then again, this is to be expected. As I’ve said a while, the SONA has always served as the “perfume” of the President’s reputation. It’s been the political idiosyncrasy here in the Philippines. Still, it saddens me that the President can actually have the guts to deprive the masses of the whole truth, and instead chose to blind them with his flattery and flowery words, while concealing the foul stench of apathy deep within.

1. Noynoy made no reference to Public-Private Partnerships.

I’m still skeptical about this plan of his, the continuous privatization of a number of state-owned institutions and facilities. Considering that I recognize merits in the very efficient wealth-accumulation strategies of the private sector, I must say that this scenario is quite promising. But I’m still suspended in a number of questions: how long will this privatization continue? Just how many institutions will be surrendered into the hands of the private sector? Will the people still be able to afford services previously owned by the state, now that they’re under the ownership of businessmen?

Like most secretive politicians, Noynoy chose not to tell us. Whether this is due to lack of comprehensibility, the secret plan of gradually separating the masses from social services, the firm belief on the alleged people-oriented capabilities of the business sector, or we’re simply in for a pleasant surprise, Noynoy not telling us anything about what’s going-on regarding this controversial project did nothing to ease my doubts. Truth be told, it just increased my suspicion exponentially. 

2. Noynoy didn’t mention anything about the state abandonment of public education.

This is a prominent part of his project of privatizing government sectors, and so this is really worth mentioning. Several times have the activist groups bombarded the Aquino administration of complaints regarding the drastic budget-cutting measures on the educational sectors. Several times have the tuition fees increased, further isolating itself from the reach of the promising but impoverished students. Several times have many thinkers advised Aquino to reconsider his decision of practically forcing the state universities and colleges (SUCs) to raise their fees, effectively adapting an anti-poor ambience which daunts would-be students, which explains the sudden drop in the number of UP enrolees this year. Noynoy did none of the above.

He chose not to mention even a single word about it. I mean, come on. Even the laymen are aware of what’s happening in the educational sector. Schools with previously affordable expenses are now raising their fees as the government moves farther away from them. Where will that leave the underprivileged students? But then it might be that in doing this, the government will have fewer things to worry about, and, anyway, man probably has absolutely no right to education, and that he must fend for himself in an increasingly oppressive society without any due assistance. That seems benevolent enough.

3. Noynoy made no reference to the cause of military upgrades.

This is an extension of the second critique. In the course of the President’s privatization program, the government has cut a staggering 1.39 billion pesos in the budget of the University of the Philippines. The same drastic budget-cutting measures have been applied to several other SUC. Where will this large amount of money go?

Noynoy has decided to utilize the money for military purposes. In his SONA, Noynoy has proudly announced the arrival of a new battleship for our coastal defences, while assuring the public of the arrival of more war machines to strengthen our national security. Know that I’m definitely not against the empowerment of our military. In fact, I saw it fit that it’s about time that our soldiers start getting geared up to answer the growing threats of war over property. In a way, Noynoy has done his best to resolve this issue.

But have we considered the repercussions of this decision? State universities and colleges have been compelled to exponentially increase their matriculation fees to sustain themselves, at the expense of the less fortunate citizens, wherein most of them gave up their dreams of pursuing their college, as all the good and affordable ones are gone. There could’ve been alternative solutions, like cuts in the pork barrel. Heck, he could’ve even used the two billion pesos he claimed to have saved due to his operations on DPWH, or the supposedly huge amount of money he was able to save after stopping the extravagant dredging project at the Laguna Lake. He even went on to say that he is actually expecting to save several billions more before the year’s end.

In summary, he did do something good, but at the expense of another good.

4. Noynoy didn’t discuss the issue about the K-12 program.

Going back to the issue of education, Noynoy has promoted the implementation of the K-12 program, which mandates children to enter kindergarten and adds two additional years in the pre-college years of students. This proposed program received many criticisms. Many poor families saw the program as another burden; adding two more years to ten years of tireless labor might just be too much to bear. Meanwhile, some political critics argue that the introduction of technical education and vocational courses with the K-12 program seems to imply that the government intends to produce semi-skilled workers to be exported overseas to meet the demands of the foreign market; in other words, to some critics, the K-12 program actually paves way to enforced labor export.

But of course these are all speculative work. However, we should give them some credit for what they have said, as their opinions were founded on empirical observation of things happening in our country. The K-12 issue has incited annoyance and grief from the citizenry; don’t you think it’s about time that Noynoy start discussing this thing to end the long chain of conspiracy theories once and for all?

Apparently, Noynoy does not agree with you. Bewilderingly, Noynoy didn’t explain anything about K-12 in his address. What could this mean? Did he already veto the proposal? Has he already implemented it? If he did, why, despite the complaints of the populace? Does he have a greater plan that will benefit everyone in the long run? How are we supposed to know, when Noynoy didn’t even mention anything about K-12?

Truly, Noynoy didn’t exert an effort to douse the flames of conspiracy theories. Instead, he just fanned them.

5. Noynoy ignored the issue about the repeated rejection of wage increase proposals.

There have been desperate pleas from our workers to have the Aquino administration implement a 125-peso wage hike to help them get by the astoundingly huge cost of living in Metro Manila. Again and again they have done their very best to have their voices reach Noynoy’s ears. Again and again they have hoped that their pleas will be answered. But again and again have the government rejected their request, keeping them in their unfortunate state.

Well, okay. Let’s give the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the government has more important things to do rather than raising the wage of the working class, which somehow justifies their need to temporarily refuse to allocate funds for the benefit of the proletariat. Maybe a crucial government sector was horribly short on funds and is on the brink of destruction, and the government had to take immediate action. Or maybe the government is focused on improving school and hospital facilities, stuff like those. Whatever the case, Noynoy must have a just reason for the rejection of wage hike proposals, and that he can address this issue in his SONA.

But it seems that he did not. Yes, he gave some emphasis on his job reforms, claiming that his administration has provided 1,400,000 jobs last year. But aside from the fact that he didn’t expound on how much is earned in this huge amount of jobs, Noynoy didn’t even bother discussing the reasons behind the staunch refusal of the state regarding the provision of additional wages to the working class. If Noynoy has a very good reason for letting this pass, then he should have been able to explain it in his address. He would have been able to save face in the eyes of our workers. But still, he did not.

6. Noynoy made no reference to the victims of political persecution.

Kulé, the official weekly newspaper of UP Diliman, has published countless articles regarding the disappearance of two UP students, namely Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan, who were abducted by the military in Hagonoy, Bulacan last 2006. Activist writers of Kulé have been channelling their emotions to the newspaper, still clinging to the hope that they will be found, and that their persecutors will be brought to justice. Surely an issue that attracts so much attention is worth mentioning in Noynoy’s SONA; after all, Karen and She belong to a good number of political victims in our country, which, together with their families, are still deprived of justice.

Noynoy didn’t mention anything about such people. In his address, he continued his waning propaganda that he will destroy the “wang-wang” mentality in his administration, and that he will do his very best to bring corrupt officials, including the ones in the previous regime, to justice, even saying that “he’s going personal in giving them their well-deserved punishment,” and that’s about it.

Okay, maybe the case of the victims still aren’t solved up to now, and that his administration is doing their best to resolve this. Then shouldn’t Noynoy have told us about the steps taken regarding this alarming issue? Shouldn’t Noynoy have discussed their investigations to at least assure us that they’re doing something about these unfortunate Filipinos? But he hasn’t; justice still seems to be unreachable, and the suspects remain untouched.

7. Noynoy didn’t even allude to the Reproductive Health bill.

Ah, another controversial figure in the Philippines. With Edcel Lagman as one of its primary promoters, and of course our President Noynoy Aquino, the RH bill has received mixed reviews in the course of its revisions. Some saw the necessity of accessible and affordable health care services to all kinds of people in our country, be they rich or poor. Others, however, especially the Catholic Church, saw the bill as immoral, and that it promotes sexual promiscuity and kills babies, and so established a strong rejection against it. Some people even proceeded to claiming that overpopulation is not the cause of poverty, and that many kids mean many workers. I have offered my stand regarding this bill in this article of mine.

In any case, the RH bill was and is still the talk of the town, and thus it is only fitting that the man who holds the highest position in this country address this increasingly problematic issue, so as to finally clarify disputable points and, if possible, to enforce a compromise. But Noynoy thinks otherwise.

Instead, he decided that the RH bill is not that important, and that it can be completely dropped from the context of his address. Not a trace of this controversial bill can be found in his speech; it was as if the bill had a grand cameo in the society, and subsequently vanished without a trace. This idea is of course, well, stupid, but apparently Noynoy finds the whole issue trivial, and that the people might just as well forget about it.

8. Noynoy is still “hands off” regarding the incidents at Hacienda Luisita.

Noynoy has stated that he is “hands off” regarding the issue in his own backyard; the Hacienda Luisita. The hacienda was marred with a number of crimes; farmers being massacred, farmers receiving a meager nine pesos and fifty centavos every week, and the subtle mind games of the major stockholders to make the farmers do their bidding.

Aside from not doing anything about the unjust wage of the farmers, the powerful has employed a clever and maleficent strategy; the stock distribution option. In this stratagem, the farmers are given the “choice” of receiving the land which is rightfully theirs, or they will receive bonds and become stockholders of Hacienda Luisita. As expected, the latter option was sugar-coated with the illusion of becoming a significant stockholder of the hacienda, the illusion of entrepreneurship. To think that the farmers are getting picked on, at the backyard of Aquino himself! Surely the miserable state of our unsung heroes is worth mentioning in the SONA. But no, Aquino begs to differ.

It is sickening to think that Aquino has the guts to literally ignore the dire issue of Hacienda Luisita in his address, while boldly proclaiming his “other” achievements to divert the attention of the masses. It saddens me that the injustices perpetrated in the lands of this hacienda didn’t even make their way to the President’s mouth. If even Noynoy himself refuses to acknowledge the atrocities committed in the hacienda, then no wonder that we hardly get a dose of justice nowadays. Context-dropping to preserve reputations is a truth in our society; a harrowing one, yes, but nonetheless a truth.

9. Noynoy did not address the issues involving the Church. 

Ever since the emergence of the Reproductive Health bill, the Church has publicized itself to the Philippine society. The Church has meddled in politics, brainwashed gullible citizens with disinformation, and even intervened with business advertisements. The Church have been considerably bold in their actions compared to the previous years of, what, lethargy?

Aside from the noticeable deviation of the Church from their original purpose of preaching the Word of God, they have also been involved with a number of incidents that only cold-blooded bastards and corrupt officials would get into.

One of these incidents was the rape of a 17-year-old girl in Agusan del Norte. Driven by poverty, the girl started working with priests so that she can study. A priest then took advantage of the girl’s dilemma and demanded her to massage him. Then came the worst part; the priest explicitly ordered the teenager to give him oral sex. The girl refused, and the priest raped her. Brothers and sisters, the harsh reality.
If this seems unbelievable, check this link.

Another alarming incident is the confession regarding priests receiving SUVs from ex-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo behind the scenes, supposedly for “charity work.” This is in itself a pathetic excuse, and this simply shows how hypocritical the Catholic priests are. The reason is very simple; the Catholic Church is supposed to be against Arroyo’s corrupt administration! Countless times have the Church openly expressed its distaste of Arroyo’s governance, yet cannot notice that its constituents are benefiting from the very person they’re battling against! This is nothing but despicable and unholy. The Church, in its benevolent manner, simply said that they’re sorry. Whew, what a day. I guess we can now leave their atrocities behind, can’t we?
Staunch defenders of stagnation, arch-nemesis of progress and rational thinking, purveyors of dogma and indoctrination, the Catholic Church has definitely succeeded not in the justification of God’s goodness, but in demonstrating their unmatched capability to imprison minds and corrupt people.

And Noynoy mentioned nothing about all of these. Apparently, the controversies caused by a charity organization that has spent extravagantly on its priests yet does not bother to help impoverished and despairing citizens aren’t really important in a large scale, and that it can be ignored altogether. That’s logic.

Now some of you might come in the defense of Aquino and argue that the reason Noynoy left the Church part out is because “he’s avoiding further conflicts between him and the Church.” I’m not saying that you’re wrong; in fact, you might as well be right. But won’t this serve as a strong reason for us not to simply rely on what Noynoy is saying on his SONA, since we’ve just got hold of proof that he really is holding something back? We can extend your argument to the problems at Hacienda Luisita; the reason why Noynoy didn’t discuss them is because “he’s avoiding further conflicts between him and the major stockholders of that hacienda.”

In proposing that kind of argument, one would have opened his eyes to a threatening possibility. Just how many unknown issues and problems does Noynoy refuse to talk about?

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In summary, what Noynoy did is hardly a SONA; it was just a speech that told people what they want to hear, while holding many things back, suspending me and my fellowmen in a state of suspicion and uncertainty, rather than giving us peace of mind that we so deserve. What happened at the 25th of July isn’t the State of the Nation Address; it was a “What People Want to Hear” Address.