Alyanna Angelina M.

Cabral Pol Sci 14

2012-65902 Prof. Abadingo

In this year’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Benigno S. Aquino III
reported to us once again about his achievements and plans during his administration. In this
paper, I stated some of the highlights of President Aquino’s speech in his SONA and gave my
reaction for each.

I was able to watch this year’s SONA only on television. But before I was able to watch
SONA, I saw in the news the rallying scenes between several militants and the police. When I
saw those rallying scenes, I was surprised because I did not know that it could be that violent. I
did not know that rallying could go to a point wherein the armed forces can assault people
especially militants. It was then that I realized why parents would not normally allow their
children to join rallies.

Regarding President Aquino’s speech in the State of the Nation Address 2013, some of
the things he highlighted are the increase of LRT and MRT fares, improvement in agricultural
sector, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, and the economic growth. As expected, he said a
lot of positive things about his administration. In the next paragraphs, I will elaborate one by one
my reactions regarding the highlights of President Aquino’s speech.

Let us first talk about the increase of LRT and MRT fares. According to President
Aquino, there is a plan of raising the fare for LRT and MRT in order to lessen the amount of
money that the government subsidizes for these public transportations. And as of now, it seems
like our government is really to push through with this fare hike. As a student who commutes to
school everyday, I find this fare hike as a burden. The recent banning of buses in Manila also
added to this burden. Because of these, I have to take several jeepneys instead of riding the LRT
or MRT since I wanted to avoid the high cost of these public transportations.

The second highlight of President Aquino’s speech which I’ll react to is the said
improvement of our agricultural sector. Recently, we had an Alternative Class Learning
Experience (ACLE) in our Econ11 class that discusses about the current status and problems of
our agricultural sector. For that ACLE, we had a farmer as a speaker and according to what he
had discussed; many farmers are still not granted with land titles. Also, the imports of rice are
greater than exports. However, in President Aquino’s speech, it seemed that the agricultural
sector was improving, stating that from 2010, the imports went lower and lower. Hearing directly
from our ACLE’s speaker himself, the current condition of our agricultural sector is not really as
good as what it sounds on President Aquino’s speech.

The third highlight of President Aquino’s speech which I’ll react to is the Pantawid
Pamilyang Pilipino Program. According to President Aquino, in his speech, he said that the age
limit of the beneficiaries of this program will be expanded to 18 years old. Originally, the age
limit of the beneficiaries of this program is up to 14 years old. For me, I think this program will
not really help Filipino families because they may only rely on the benefits they receive from this
program instead of working and earning their food and other necessities. This program is said to
be patterned after the conditional cash transfer program in Brazil and Mexico. According to our
professor in Nat Sci 5, even though the conditional cash transfer is able to somehow solve
poverty in Brazil and Mexico, we should not just imitate their ways since the situations and
people in our country are different from theirs. Therefore, when a program is effective in other
countries, this does not mean that it will also be effective or be of help to our country.

The last highlight of President Aquino’s speech which I’ll react to is the economic
growth of our country. According to President Aquino, the Philippines is now considered a
“rising tiger” due to its rising GDP growth rate. Despite that fact, if we observe our
surroundings, it seems that nothing really changed. Crime is still prominent, many people are
still unemployed and many families still do not get to eat thrice a day. I do not seem to feel that
economic growth our president was talking about.

As you can see, it seems that this paper doubts some particular statements in President
Aquino’s speech. I remember before, whenever I watch SONA on television, I tend to just
absorb whatever was being said by the president in his speech. But now, I can say that I became
more critical and sceptical. This scepticism in me, I can say, developed through the different
people I meet everyday, especially I am studying in a university which is full of people with
varying ideas and beliefs.