Sona: Promises, promises
PRESIDENT Arroyo is scheduled to deliver her State of the Nation Address (Sona) during the opening of the 14th Congress at the Batasan complex this afternoon. This is her seventh Sona since assuming power after Edsa 2, which toppled the corrupt and immoral government of Joseph Estrada in 2001.Sona is a presidential tradition delivered during the opening of Congress every fourth Monday of July where the chief executive is expected to report on her accomplishments and achievements for the past year and lay down her future programs.
So, what can we expect from the President’s Sona today? Well, just like her previous Sonas, it will all be promises again. While we cannot deny that there were results on her pronouncements in last year’s Sona, the fact remains that the country still experiences major political and economic problems. The threat on military adventurism, communist insurgency and the Muslim rebellion in Mindanao still causes political instability.
The problems on poverty, unemployment, squatting and the quality on public education have not been given enough attention by our political leaders. They will only remember these problems and offer solutions during campaigns. But after they are elected, everything is gone with the wind. Most of our politicians have a short memory.
Remember Mang Pandoy who was former president Fidel Ramos’ model to fight the problem of poverty? Mang Pandoy symbolized the plight and condition of an ordinary Filipino who strives hard to fight poverty. And because of his courage and dedication to improve life, Mang Pandoy became a bit successful. He managed to put up a sari-sari store and was able to send his children to school. But after the Ramos administration exploited him, where’s Mang Pandoy now? I think he’s back in the squatter’s area and still struggling to survive.
During her first Sona in 2001, President Arroyo presented three children from families residing at Smokey Mountain, a garbage dumpsite in Metro Manila where thousands of squatters live. The children, according to Arroyo, sent her a letter through “bangkang papel” (paper boat), which reached Malacañang via the Pasig River. The children were asking if the Arroyo administration could send them to school and if their parents could own a decent house, which they could call home.
The three children represent the millions of children from the underprivileged sector that want to go to school but cannot because their parents cannot afford it. They also symbolize the problem on squatting, where thousands of families have been forced to live in squatter areas and dumpsites.
So how are the children now? I don’t know if Arroyo has fulfilled her promise to them and to the millions of children from poor families who want to go to school? Is the Arroyo administration giving much attention to education, which, under our Constitution, has the biggest budget? I doubt. If you go to the rural areas or even in the urban areas, there is always a shortage of school buildings, teachers and school educational materials. The quality of public education has been deteriorating.
I doubt if parents of these children and the millions of Filipinos who are in the same boat are able to uplift their living condition in the squatter areas. Yes, there is a government “pabahay program” through the housing loan of Pag-ibig but it is not enough to solve the problem of squatting. What about the problem of unemployment? The unemployment rate is still high.
I focus on these issues because I feel that these are the important problems that need to be addressed by this present administration and the next government.
