Senators urged Aquino to maximize communicating to the nation through his SoNA to effectively rally the Filipino people behind government’s programs for national development in the next five years of his term.
“I’m hoping that through the SONA, the (Aquino) administration would be able to communicate better what their strategy is for fulfilling the President’s goals for the country,” said Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano.
He said the SoNA must let the people know what direction the country is headed, and what it can do to help. “But he should also be able to give us the true state of the nation – where are we now and what can we do to help (ourselves and the government),” Cayetano added.
Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr. said he is optimistic the President would present a framework to fight poverty and a call for unity among government leaders, while Sen. Edgardo Angara expects Aquino’s advocacy towards the “tuwid na daan (straight path)” must include a provision for quality health care to Filipinos.
Aquino has ventured into the world of social media to get public expectations on his SoNA.
The President posted a message on his official Facebook and Twitter over the weekend asking the public what it wants to hear on his public address.
And the President got hundreds of responses from netizens, mostly seeking clear plans for the country and not mere complaint sheet and campaign rhetoric.
Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) affirmed that public’s online sentiments are being considered in the President’s much anticipated televised address.
The Palace said Aquino is set to deliver a “gimmick-free” SoNA that outlines his priorities for the year and recounts his year-old administration’s accomplishments.
Swept into office by his “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap (no corruption, no poverty)” campaign battle cry, Aquino is expected to talk about his vigorous anti-corruption drive in the bureaucracy.
Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Abigail Valte said the President will also touch on plans for economic development and job creation.
“The President was elected in May 2010 on an anti-corruption platform. He will share what he has accomplished in the first year in office and where he will bring us in a year’s time,” said Valte, adding that this SoNA will be straightforward and bereft of gimmicks.
“There will be no theatrics and props. It will be the President’s speech and audiovisual presentation. We have no human props,” she said.
Secretary Ramon Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office said the President will also highlight “transforming our society” in his second SoNA, alluding to Aquino’s claim that his first year in office changed Filipinos’ attitude of resignation and apathy.
The Chief Executive is, also, expected to press Congress to pass a list of priority bills, which may include the establishment of archipelagic sea lanes in the country in a bold attempt to bolster the country’s territorial integrity.
He may also announce the appointment of the new Ombudsman.
Assisted by a team of speechwriters, Aquino has been busy finalizing his speech in the past week and said to have rehearsed his address several times.
“It’s done. The President saw six drafts before it was finalized but we actually had about eight or nine drafts,” Carandang said about the President’s speech.
“I don’t expect any more changes but you’ll never know,” he added.
Aquino will deliver his second SoNA against the backdrop of a sluggish economy, rising oil prices, and criticisms of slow pace of reform agenda.
Some groups criticized the President’s alleged dismal performance, but Valte said the administration made significant achievements in the past year. “The President was not elected for a one-year term. He has a term of six years. We know that more needs to be done, more programs (need) to be implemented,” she said.
Valte encouraged the public to listen to the SoNA and appealed to anti-government groups to keep their protests peaceful. She said the Palace recognizes the criticisms hurled against the President related to his first-year performance. “Whether good or a bad, we take note of their comments,” she said.
Still, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said Aquino’s speech will bear a “positive and constructive” tone, focusing on priorities and results.
“We are going to tell the world, not only what happened, but what we were able to do to disentangle all of that, to uproot all of that, and what are the prospects, because we have set in place the measures for good governance,” he said.
On “concrete programs” to fulfill his reform agenda in fighting corruption and poverty, Aquino is expected to line up in his second year the expansion of the cash subsidy program, said Coloma, adding that the President will seek lower rice importation and more scholarships for children of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
For these undertakings, he is expected to submit the proposed national budget for 2012 fiscal year a day after his SoNA, Coloma said.
Meanwhile, Aquino has a lot more on his plate in his second year in the Palace, including perking up the domestic economy, kicking off the auction of public-private partnership (PPP) projects, fighting the wave of crimes, reforming the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao(ARMM), addressing high prices of oil and food.
He also has a number of difficult foreign policy issues, among them the brewing tension with China on the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea), and the new labor policy in Saudi Arabia that may dislocate thousands of OFWs.
Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. emphasized that their first year in office was about laying the groundwork for the long-term reforms and programs, citing achievements in good governance, peace and security, economy, among others.
“Our first year is marked by firsts and first steps –– firsts that would only have been achieved by a government led by a President with the political will to achieve these; and brave first steps that would only be taken by an administration with the resolve to implement much-needed reforms,” said Ochoa.
He said the government took first steps in putting its fiscal house in order with moves to consolidate the country’s fiscal position and being on track to meet its P325-billon or 3.9% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deficit target mainly due to improved revenue collections and prudent spending.
“We are the first administration to deal decisively with the abuses in our government-controlled or operated corporations, with the passage of the GOCC Governance Act of 2011,” he said.
On peace, justice, and security, Ochoa said the administration, also for the first time in history, held the Office of the Ombudsman accountable for the performance of its functions.
“We have suspended the Deputy Ombudsman and the Special Prosecutor and shown that we will not hesitate to mete out justice,” he said.
(source: Manila Bulletin)
