FULL TRANSCRIPT OF SONA 2011 – State of the Nation Address of President Benigno Aquino III

[Delivered at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives, Batasan Pambansa Complex, Quezon City on July 25, 2011]

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile; Speaker Feliciano Belmonte; Bise Presidente Jejomar Binay; mga dating Pangulong Fidel Valdez Ramos at Joseph Ejercito Estrada; Chief Justice Renato Corona at ang ating mga kagalang-galang na mahistrado ng Korte Suprema; mga kagalang-galang na kasapi ng diplomatic corps; mga butihing miyembro ng Kamara de Representante at ng Senado; mga Local Government officials; mga miyembro ng ating Gabinete; mga unipormadong kasapi ng militar at kapulisan; mga kapwa ko nagseserbisyo sa taumbayan;

At sa mga minamahal kong kababayan, ang aking butihing mga boss:

Humarap po ako sa inyo noong aking inagurasyon at sinabing: Walang wang-wang sa ating administrasyon. At ngayon, patuloy nating itinitigil ito. Naging hudyat at sagisag po ito ng pagbabago, hindi lamang sa kalsada, kundi pati na rin sa kaisipan sa lipunan.

Sa matagal na panahon, naging simbolo ng pang-aabuso ang wang-wang. Dati, kung makapag-counterflow ang mga opisyal ng pamahalaan, para bang oras lang nila ang mahalaga. Imbes na maglingkod-bayan, para bang sila ang naging hari ng bayan. Kung maka-asta ang kanilang mga padrino’t alipores, akala mo’y kung sinong maharlika kung humawi ng kalsada; walang pakialam sa mga napipilitang tumabi at napag-iiwanan. Ang mga dapat naglilingkod ang siya pang nang-aapi. Ang panlalamang matapos mangakong maglingkod—iyan po ang utak wang-wang.

Wala silang karapatang gawin ito. Ayon sa batas, tanging ang Presidente, Bise Presidente, Senate President, House Speaker, Chief Justice, at pulis, bumbero, at ambulansya lang ang awtorisadong gumamit ng wangwang para sa kanilang mga opisyal na lakad. Kung sa trapiko nga ay di masunod ang batas, paano pa kaya sa mga bagay na mas malaki ang makukuha, tulad ng sa mga proyektong pinopondohan ng kaban ng bayan?

Kayo po ba gusto ninyong makulong ang lahat ng tiwali? Ako rin. Gusto ba ninyong matanggal ang wang-wang, hindi lamang sa kalsada, kundi sa kaisipang nagdulot ng baluktot na sistema na pagkatagal-tagal na nating pinagtiisan? Ako rin. Gusto po ba ninyong mabigyan ng patas na pagkakataon ang lahat na umasenso? Ako rin.

Narito po ang halimbawa ng resulta ng ating kampanya kontra wang-wang sa sistema. Nitong taong ito, taumbayan na mismo ang nagsabi, nabawasan ang nagugutom sa kanila. Mula 20.5% na self-rated hunger noong Marso, bumaba na ito sa 15.1% nitong Hunyo, katumbas ng isang milyong pamilyang Pilipinong nagugutom dati, pero ngayon ay nakakakain na nang tama kada araw.

Sa larangan po ng negosyo, sino ba ang nag-akalang pitong ulit nating malalampasan ang all-time-high ng stock market? Ang dating 4,000 index na inaakalang hindi maaabot, o kung maabot man ay pansamantala lang, ngayon, pangkaraniwan nang hinihigitan.

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A Fighting SONA

If there was any way I wanted the SONA to be written and delivered, I would want it to be that of today’s SONA. It was a fighting SONA, loudly ringing of the truth that this government had done for the past nine years, which is caring for the economy and business.

President Gloria Arroyo, for the first time, addressed her critics, and at the same time talked proudly of her accomplishments. She should be.

• The Philippines has the strongest, sustained and continued growth in GDP. Jobs created by BPOs, IT investors have benefited as well the taxi drivers and the vendors.
• While the world is in crisis, Philippines is weathering it because of the strong economic policies, though unpopular they may be. Investing in the country has never been fair and investment friendly as before. I know because I work for a multinational company, and I know how dismissive government agencies had been before.
• Good infrastructure such as nautical highways and expressways and highways, airports that are of international standards. Can you remember a time before today when Filipinos traveled, visited, and started exploring the country? One of my projects is a directory of Philippine destinations, and in one of our studies, we found out that many of our tourists lately are Filipinos themselves.
• The easy movement of goods and people as well as giving the people the capacity to earn, have made this country stand the economic and political crises.

There are more here…

I couldn’t help nodding my head in agreement on these points:

The noisiest critics of constitutional reform tirelessly and shamelessly attempted Cha-Cha when they thought they could take advantage of a shift in the form of government. Now that they feel they cannot benefit from it, they oppose it.

…

As the campaign unfolds and the candidates take to the airwaves, I ask them to talk more about how they will build up the nation rather than tear down their opponents. Give the electorate real choices and not just sweet talk.

This is my wish, too.

…

I say to them: do not tell us what we all know, that democracy can be threatened. Tell us what you will do when it is attacked.

…

To titillate even more his critics, she went:

At the end of this speech I shall step down from this stage, but not from the Presidency. My term does not end until next year. Until then, I will fight for the ordinary Filipino. The nation comes first. There is much to do as head of state – to the very last day.

I am sad that many opposition Senators did not attend. It does not speak well of the kind of statesmen that we have. I believe it is their duty to hear the SONA in Congress. Sen. Biazon put it well when he said that he was there because it was his duty to be there, although he might not agree with what President Arroyo was saying.

In the U.S., during Bush’s unpopularity, when Bush delivered his SONA, the democrats were there, stayed on, and listened. Never mind if the democrats didn’t approve of Bush’s policies or give his governance a thumbs up.

Here in the Philippines, those on the other side, as expected said that GMA did not portray the true state state of the nation, and that in no categorical terms did GMA say that she would be stepping down in 2010/2011. Well, isn’t it sentido comon?

I wish everyone of us had been vigilant of the changes that the country underwent in the last nine years, that is if everyone was able to tune out the political noise.

In the end, it’s anybody’s interpretation, depending on which side are you, and how open minded you are.

Read the SONA.