POLITICAL CIRCUS

President Gloria Macapagal - Arroyo delivered her 8th State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 28, 2008. Before her address, many negative statements and whereabouts were made from her critics, such as activist and the ordinary Filipino people itself. Some of them predicted that the address will be full of lies and dishonesty. Some thinks of it as a way of the President to make herself look good in the middle of the vast crisis that our country is facing. Others think it’s pointless and irrelevant. As a student with high political passion, I viewed it as a reference of myself in the future. I viewed as something that is positive.
The SONA of the president tackles on different activities and priorities of her administration such as the importance of Value Added Tax (VAT), the infrastructures, and others. She did not answer the call of the people on eradicating the Oil VAT nor their call for reform because for the President, sacrifices, though hard, must be made in order for the country to progress.
After the SONA, critics voiced out that all the projects that she addressed was not her own. In fact, about her statement, “Texting is a way of life. I asked the telecoms to cut the cost of messages between networks. They responded. It is now down to 50 centavos,” proved to be merely a promo of the telecommunications companies.
But, as I said I did not mind whether she’s telling the truth or merely lying. I focused on her statement that made me reflect. She said, “To meet the challenge of today, we will feed our people now, not later, and help them get through these hard times. To meet the challenges of tomorrow, we must become more self-reliant, self-sufficient and independent, relying on ourselves more than on the world.” This made me think that the solution to the problems that we are facing starts with ourselves. Our survival relies on us. I am a constant critic of the president, but I realized that nothing of the things I’ve done will make my country be proud of me. I call for a change yet the change should start within me. I am now sure that Presidents are elected simply to be blamed for the countries mistakes. (Poor Gloria Macapagal Arroyo).
Another statement of her:, “We are three branches but one government. We have our disagreements; we each have hopes, and ambitions that drive and divide us, be they personal, ethnic, religious and cultural. But we are one nation with one fate.” This clearly states the fact that our nation is not progressing because we are disunited. We criticized without first listening or supporting. I am not seeing progress in the distant because the road is still has many obstacles.
I am not being idealistic nor dreaming, because in a democratic government, it is always evident that people oppose. But come to think of it, if the people will unite with one cause, surely our country will progress.