The sky was dark. The rain
poured. Heaven itself was crying.
Yes, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s
sixth State of the Nation Address was on.
By rights this should be
her last SONA, as the 1987 Constitution mandates a single six-year term for presidents. But since she became president via
a 2001 power grab and through a 2004 election manipulation, Arroyo will have three more. That is, if her regime does not succeed in amending the Charter, in which case we could look
forward to possibly a decade more of Arroyo SONA’s.
But I digress.
What is the state of the nation, according to the Arroyo regime’s perspective?
Well, judging by her speech,
the country is bursting at the seems with economic prowess and might – if only the 1987 Constitution will let them develop.
The Philippines
is poor, yes. But why is it that way? Because “the most prohibitive red tape” – the Constitution –
is holding us back.
The population is in poverty,
true. But why? Because “bickering in politics” delays the Arroyo regime’s “pro-poor, pro-growth, and
pro-peace agenda.”
Excuse me, but is that not
the same Constitution you swore to preserve and defend?
Is this “pro-peace
agenda” the one wherein you allotted P1 billion to wipe out the Communist insurgency and the leftist movements?
Clearly, Arroyo is being
less than frank. This is no surprise. After all, surveys indicate that nearly half of all Filipinos distrust her. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo must be doing something very wrong for her to get that kind of perception.
How does she lie to thee?
Let us count the ways: IMPSA, Jose Pidal, jueteng payoffs, the fertilizer scam, And the big one, Hello Garci.
So old habits die hard, what
can I say?
Going back to her SONA, which
I think is misnamed. It is not a report on the nation’s condition –
it is a report on Arroyo’s plans for the country, mostly infrastructure projects.
In her speech, Arroyo mentioned
16 – sixteen! – ongoing or planned airport constructions and upgrades. Also in the SONA were two mentions of major
seaport projects, numerous road investments, and a light rail project.
The obvious question is:
Where will the government get the funds to finance these projects? For a country with $ 66.12 billion in foreign debt, this regime could ill afford to borrow some more.
Unless of course Arroyo wants
to win some sort of award for being the biggest borrower in Asia. Oh, in case you’re
wondering, she just did: Euromoney just named the Philippines as “2006 Best Borrower in Asia” this month.
Gee, what an honor, huh?
Don’t worry. After
Arroyo is done with this nation, we won’t just be the best in Asia. We’ll be
the best borrower in the whole world.
Arroyo’s apologists
would have us believe that this was her best SONA ever (the latest is always the
best).
One of her top lackeys, Serge Remonde (who has been amply rewarded with a cushy government post), wrote:
“No matter what the
opposition will say, the SONA speech of the President on Monday is a very faithful and well thought-out piece for the entire
nation to ponder and consider. The speech will reconfirm to all right-thinking people of the world the clarity of vision that
drives the current administration. And once more, true patriots may hope that if we can only set aside politics until the
next election, the better it will be for the entire nation.”
Well thought-out? Clarity
of vision? Aside from ripping the 1987 Constitution to shreds and aside from thinly-veiled sarcasm aimed at the opposition,
I cannot see anything clear and well thought-out in this SONA.
The SONA was a bunch of lies.
But do not fret. Chances are, few even listened to it, let alone believed it. A Pulse Asia survey found that more than a quarter of the population think that the SONA will be just that – lies.
In fact, nearly half of Filipinos are doubtful if Arroyo was being truthful in all her previous SONAs.
Six years of lies. Is that
not enough to merit a lightning bolt?
It was too bad. The heavens
were all set to send a lightning bolt to Batasan that day.
