The best SONA ever

The roads leading to the Batasan were clear, and passing through security inspection was a breeze. With my invitation in hand, I went to look for my seat. On the way, I was greeted by some lawmaker-friends who came to lend the President their ears.

The media was surprisingly behaved on one end of the hall, while protesters outside the compound were clearly divided between the pros and the antis, both camps careful not to mingle with the rest so as to avoid a fight.

As scheduled, the President and her entourage arrived. In a few minutes, her speech began. Event organizers did not need to trigger the audience to clap; they were awed with what she was saying, and her speech was bound to be the most-applauded SONA in history.

She started by saying the economy grew by over seven percent in the first half, a figure if sustained would be enough to make a difference to people’s lives. The trajectory certainly looked bright in the coming quarter as all sectors of the economy posted robust growth, personal consumption continued to show strong performance, and exports growing at double-digit rates.

Investments – direct and portfolio – had come in droves as sentiment was invigorated by the government’s budget surpluses in the recent months coupled with strong economic and monetary policies. The peso too had been stable, neither too strong nor too weak to the comfort of both importers and exporters.

Lower electricity rates

Businessmen were satisfied that electricity rates had declined with competition in place and no single group dominating the sector. It also helped that the government had been able to sell most of its power plants and at very good prices.

Divestment by the government in the power sector encouraged the entry of more players in the industry, ensuring that capital required to meet the country’s increasing energy requirement would be available when needed.

She moved on to thank the country’s overseas Filipino workers, who at more than eight million to date, continue to grow not because they have given up on the country but because they have realized that their talent could be put to best use – and therefore better compensated for – overseas.

OFW remittances continued to break records. Efforts of our Filipinos working abroad have not been for naught. Their children are in the best schools, they have purchased their own homes, and their family members have saved well enough to allow them to look forward to a comfortable retirement.

Cheap financing for businesses

The President then moved on to address the financial sector by way of thanking banks for being a reliable pillar of the country’s growing economy. They continued to lend more and offered stable interest rates to businesses, thanks to the SPAV Law that freed their lending capacity. The focus now is to beef up capital so that banks can withstand any shock in the system, as well as lend to small and medium enterprises the much-needed cheap funds to finance expansion.

She then announced that the government will no longer have to borrow to fund vital infrastructure projects such as the construction of wider roads to decongest metropolitan Manila or those badly needed farm-to-market roads that would make the transport of agriculture goods a lot easier and less costly.

Several companies had already firmed up their support of this undertaking, and more firms are set to undertake other similar ventures. All that is needed, she said, is to show investors that laws are stable, and that business will be guaranteed a fare return for their investments.

A-1 education standards

She turned her eyes to a group of Grade Six students from several public schools and congratulated them for topping a Southeast Asian test in Math and Science. She promised to build more schools and hire more and able teachers. A 1:40 teacher-student ratio will not only be ideal but would actually be implemented as the government puts more priority in education.

Health too would be given utmost importance, not because it is election time next year but because it should really be. She promised a bigger budget for a genuine health care program that would exist even after election year.

The President then asked lawmakers to do their share in nation-building. Because putting an end to politicking seemed impossible, she asked: "Can you give up your pork barrel?"

All lawmakers – senators and congressmen alike – stood up and clapped their hands in complete agreement to what the President has said. Everyone watching was awed by such gesture of obedience. I too was overwhelmed. Clapping, I stood up, so proud to have voted these friends of mine.

A gentle nudge from my wife woke me up from deep slumber. Apparently, I was snoring so loudly she thought I was having a "bangungot" and was having difficulty in breathing. That would have been the President’s best SONA ever, if not for my wife.

Back to reality

Well, I guess it’s back to the real world. Today, the 24th of July, is a much-awaited day for administration allies and nemesis alike. As what the President said in her SONA 2005: "Ours is a country divided; the story of our nation is a tale of two Philippines; almost, as it were, two countries under the same name." We’ll likely hear her say the same thing again in roughly the same words. The Philippines still is a divided nation today, and its people couldn’t care less. Last year, she talked about the need for fundamental change in the way the government works. She said the people want a government that works for them at every level, and that the system clearly needs a major overhaul, which should begin by amending the Constitution. With a new impeachment at hand, a 2006 national budget that has yet to be approved, and a pre-need code that has yet to pass, will Congress have time to start the debate on Charter Change? We’ll likely hear the President asking lawmakers to give ChaCha a chance. With regards the need for a code that would govern the pre-need industry, this proposal has been laid on the table since several years ago but unfortunately Congress has been very busy with a lot of other things. Students’ and their parents’ welfare will most likely have to take the backseat once again. That surely goes against President Arroyo’s vision of ensuring "that everyone of school age will be in a classroom that is conducive to learning." There are a lot of things the President committed during her SONA 2005. Looking back, her government has been successful in implementing fiscal reforms. Three straight months of budget surpluses were recorded, and the full-year budget deficit will likely be below target. Economic growth has been at a steady pace, albeit not yet at that level that will bring about direct benefits to the masses. The peso and the stock markets are stable, and interest rates have been held steady. Yet, there’s still a lot that needs to be done if the Philippines, as the President last year described, is "the country on the verge for take off." In the meantime, so as not to needle our patience, we should just continue to dream on. It’s free, after all.

Tagaytay Hold’em Challenge

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