SONA 2011

Tomorrow, Philippine President Benigno PNoy Noynoy Aquino III is scheduled to deliver his second State Of The Nation Address, dubbed as SONA 2011, before the congress after one year of administration of the Philippine government. It is anticipated that the Philippine president will account to his bosses (that’s what he called the Filipino people on his inauguration speech) what he and his cabinet members had completed from the past one year of governing the country.

President Pnoy Noynoy Aquino is the fifteenth president of the Philippines. In my opinion he was a reluctant and a pushover candidate. Surprisingly, he won by landslide last 2010 presidential election. It was due to the fact that he was one of the very few presidents who gained high level of trust from the majority of Filipino people from all classes. Every Filipinos who shows concern for the country are all waiting what would be the content of his SONA.

Whatever it is, this Pnoy Noynoy SONA 2011 should really assure intelligent Filipinos after they had placed their hope on him.

In spite of his ratings getting down, it is an obvious fact that many Filipinos said that they still trust his leadership. According to the Pulse Asia survey, his popularity ratings went down to 71% as of June of this year from 80% at the time he started office. Though according to political analysts, 71% is still high for a two year period.

Broken Promises

In the State of the Nation Address of the President last year, he pointed out the problems his administration has inherited from the Arroyo government and how he plans to put solutions to these problems, saying that Filipinos can now dream again.

He mentioned plans regarding public-private partnerships, job creations, streamlining government processes, and zero-based approach in budget preparation.

However, President Noynoy Aquino gained points for allotting bigger budget to education.

The President still needs to do something about the increase in employment rate, low foreign investments, and a long-term plan for the economy, points that a lot of Filipinos are hoping he will answer in his second SONA.

Now this is something we are all waiting for, the promises that he made during election. Will he still mention these promises on his upcoming SONA? That is really what the Filipino communities, both local and abroad, will be watching for.

Does it all depend on him?

In my most humble and honest opinion? No, it does not all depend on him. Yes, we chose him as our leader but leader is only there to guide. He also needs our cooperation. How can he do his job if we do not do ours? We also have responsibility for this country. Who doesn’t want change? Especially in this kind of country we live in. Everybody wants change. But how can a country change if its countrymen do not? I’m saying this because I notice that yes there is a decline in Filipinos trust ratings. But it got me to thinking, when are we ever contented? I’ve been under the government of 4 or 5 presidents and I see that there are always some people who are not quite contented with how the current president handles the problems of the country. I’m just saying that change starts from within. Well, that is just my opinion. Let’s wait for his SONA before we give our semi-final verdict. Why semi-final? Because he still have 5 years to go. We can give our final verdict after he finished his term. Ha!