It is the weekend before Monday’s 2024 State Of The Nation Address (SONA), and already I am expecting a cornucopia of good things that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will be presenting as he reports to the people.
Immediately after his several travels bringing home more than just the bacon but multi-billion dollar economic packages from other countries, the SONA will also be a reason for militant activists to gather in the vicinity of the Batasan Pambansa to voice out their yearly grievances to government no matter who is on the throne.
And then there’s the burning of an effigy which is usually a humorous and exaggerated depiction of the person delivering the SONA. An estimated PhP20 million will be spent for expenses related to equipment, logistics, meetings, and food. Vice-President Sara Duterte will not be attending.
This is a black eye for the designated ingrate because it simply shows what a sourgrape she is and that she really was never for the UniTeam.
The President is expected to deliver his message in both English and Tagalog on the state of the nation in regards to the lives of the people, the economy and its impact on the general public, criminality, and other social problems in the country.
On this note, one would easily notice that the President has been travelling the countryside meeting the local townsfolk in each area he visits and makes sure that every community is given the help needed. While building the nation’s economy. The President also fights for the country’s sovereignty in the international scene.
A move that is well accepted and admired by both local leaders and the international community. Some of the President’s accomplishments are the distribution of P771.300 million assistance to Cordillera farmers and fisherfolk, the development of Romblon’s healthcare programs, the P300 million presidential assistance for El Nino-hit farmers and fisherfolk in Romblon, Oriental and Occidental Mindoro.
Also, P140 million for Mimaropa in preparation for the coming La Nina, among several assistance programs of the administration.
The Marcos administration is well prepared to help our countrymen as they face numerous challenges on a day-to-day basis.
On the other hand, the political and economic oligarchs remain entrenched in their positions of power that no poor man can hope to get elected to public office.
Look at the political landscape. The wives of the solons are governors and mayors and their children are councilors.
And that is only the beginning. Other relatives occupy high appointive positions. The people will be watching closely how their legislators will be behaving. Body language is such a clear way of delivering a message.
These solons spend millions and millions to get elected and re-elected, and the public is curious how on earth will they be able to recover their political expenses on jobs which pay them only several thousands of pesos a month.
But we now eye legislators with much skepticism, and it’s their fault. We also know that they left no stone unturned to be elected and to be assured of money and power. Most of these solons who will bootlick the President on July 22 are Filipinos from the same class that have ruled the country for many years.
It’s good to see a brand new Marcos who, like his father, brings with him a roadmap for the country’s economic recovery and respect from the international community of free nations.
But much as we hate to admit it, Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew may have been correct when he accused the Philippines of having abused the theory of democracy and that this same abuse has caused many of our country’s present ills.
“The trouble with your country is that you ape western democracies too much and you have had too much democracy,” PM Lee told Filipinos during a visit to the Philippines several years ago.
Methinks too that the trouble with our country is our culture of impunity where not one big crook really goes to prison – unless politically-motivated. No one big fish here really goes to prison for his or her crimes, period. If that big fish goes to prison, it’s only for a “vacation.”
It’s high time we send some to the can again or else we will never learn our lesson, and rest assured, there will be more out there ready and willing to screw our nation again.
So yes, the President’s SONA without a Sara will prove to be a good SONA. For those who follow feng-shui, this is negativism and vengefulness out the window. And it will be all good and it’s like: some people bring joy wherever they go, while some bring joy whenever they go.
Good riddance to you Sara.
-o0o-
Random Memorandum: Filipino guests attending Monday’s SONA will once again display their finest Filipiniana wardrobe which includes the Barong Tagalog and the Baro’t Saya made from Jusi silk cloth and other fabric made by the indigenous peoples of the country.
-o0o-
Factoid: In a 2010 census, Filipinos overtook the Japanese as Hawaii’s second largest racial group. The Filipino population was approximately 342,000 of which some 197,000 were full Filipinos. The Japanese population was approximately 312,000 of which some 185,000 were full Japanese. And according to the American Community Survey, Filipinos overtook the Japanese between 2007 and 2008.
(Leslie Bocobo is a former Special Assistant to the Secretary at the Office of the Press Secretary, Malacañang, and a former Public Affairs Director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources)
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