How would you describe 2008 SONA?

I wasn’t able to watch the live coverage of 2008 State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Arroyo. I had to spend time with my Nanay you know so everything else come in second. So I really missed a lot, not the SONA but the clothes, or lack thereof, of those in attendance.

Mayor Rosario Camma of Nagtipunan, Quirino apparently stole the limelight when he arrived at the House of Representatives he in his G-string. The promdi upstaged the fashionista senators and wives of politicians who obviously spent extra time and money in dressing up.

I read the SONA online and I think there’s really nothing new there.  Why, is there anything there in her SONA that you probably did not hear in her previous ones? Those were not really a lie but of course you wouldn’t expect her to report where she failed. I believe the real state of the nation is on today’s editorial of The Inquirer. But if I compare it to her previous SONA’s, I like this one better. Probably because there were just a few things I was looking for and I like what I saw.

I read the full SONA but I searched first for the keywords Iloilo, Frank and CARP.

Iloilo: “Leading multinational company Nestle cut transport costs and offset higher milk prices abroad. Salamat, RORO. Transport costs have become so reasonable for bakeries like Gardenia, a loaf of its bread in Iloilo is priced the same as in Laguna and Manila. Salamat muli sa RORO”

I admit the RORO has really been very helpful in lowering trasportation costs. I’ve traveled to Manila from Iloilo using RORO several times already. Though it may not be the most comfortable mode of traveling, at least you save money and experience an adventure.

Frank: “We released P1 billion for the victims of typhoon Frank. We support a supplemental Western Visayas calamity budget from VAT proceeds, as a tribute to the likes of Rodney Berdin, age 13, of Barangay Rombang, Belison, Antique, who saved his mother, brother and sister from the raging waters of Sibalom River”

I am grateful for GMA’s support and I do not belittle the heroic deed of Rodney but I think that last sentence is superfluous.  The support should be given because the situation calls for it. Western Visayas really needed the supplemental budget for rehabilitation of areas damaged by Typhoon Frank.

CARP: “Sinimula ng aking ama ang land reform noong 1963. Upang mabuo ito, the extension of CARP with reforms is top priority. I will continue to do all I can for the rural as well as urban poor. Ayaw natin na paglaya ng tenant sa landlord, mapapasa-ilalim naman sa usurero. Former tenants must be empowered to become agribusinessmen by allowing their land to be used as collateral.”

I am a farmer’s daughter so my sentiment goes to our small farmers. I am actually working with a program connected with CARP so I get to meet the farmers and I empathize with their plight. Yes, there are failures but there are also success stories of CARP. I agree that extension of CARP should be made with reforms because extending it as is will only multiply the loopholes of the program.

“Be with me on this. There must be a path where justice and progress converge. Let us find it before Christmas.”

Well, thank you for giving me hope that I might still be with the program beyond December 2008.

How would you describe 2008 SONA?

I think Sen. Joker Arroyo has the best word for it. Rapacious. It’s the first time I encountered that word so I immediately looked it up in the dictionary.

ra·pa·cious /rəˈpeɪʃəs/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ruh-pey-shuhs] – adjective

By the way, that’s how Sen. Arroyo described the bare back gown of Sen. Loren Legarda. He might as well have been describing the SONA. It’s not so hard to imagine who else suits that adjective. There’s a hall full of them.