April Michelle C. Aram Prof.

Roel Pulido
BS Economics Econ 163
Reaction on Kung ako SONA si PNoy: A Post SONA Assessment
The forum entitled Kung ako SONA si PNoy: A Post SONA Assessment was a comprehensive
discussion about the implications of President Noynoy Aquinos fourth State of the Nation Address in
terms of Economics, Governance, Media and Social Sciences. Speakers include, Prof. Benjamin Diokno
from UP School of Economics, Prof Edna Co of NCPAG, Atty. Victor Avecilla form College of Mass
Communication and Prof. Jean Franco from the UP CSSP Department of Political Science. Each of them
shared their expertise in their fields to give valuable insight and analysis regarding the most recent SONA
which was delivered last July 22, 2013.
Prof. Diokno was the first to come up the stage to present the Economic point of view of the
SONA. It was interesting how different his presentation was compared with PNoy, while PNoy bragged
about all the accomplishments of his administration; Prof. Diokno showed what appeared to be reality
check with the current status of the Philippines. Among the ASEAN-5, Phils. has the lowest GNI per
capita, highest rank of poverty incidence, and worst unemployment record. We are shamefully left behind
by the flock that we used to fly with. And despite the celebrated 7.8% economic growth, joblessness
continues to worsen. These facts snapped me out of the misleading hope that I was too nave to believe.
Prof. Diokno ended his talk by offering solutions to the lingering problems that our country is facing,
emphasizing on the need for simultaneous execution, especially for public infrastructure plans, rather than
sequential.
In terms of Governance, Prof. Edna Co started off by explaining the true purpose of SONA. The
SONA, she explained, is a constitutional obligation delivered by the President to report on the status of
the country, unveil the governments agenda for the coming year, and to propose to Congress certain
legislative measures. Thereafter, she compared it with the manner PNoys 4
th
SONA was delivered. She
criticized how it has become a platform to update the nation about the achievements of his administration,
and occasionally attack the previous administration. She said, OA yung highlighting ng
accomplishment, regarding the uneven stress of the presidents speech. Furthermore, Prof. Co explained
that although she lauded the Presidents consistency with fighting corruption and even specifically
threatened those he hasnt caught yet, she thinks that PNoy needs to do more than that. Because
corruption is comparable to a disease and the President needs to concentrate more on the structural defect
which is causing the persistence of corruption.
Atty. Victor Avecilla from the College of Mass Communication then stepped in to talk about the
role of media for all SONAs in general. SONA is not truly reflective of the accomplishments of the
administration; it is a prepared and self-indulged speech. We know that administration would never admit
faults, so thats where the media should step in. It has to be critical and pessimistic for them to be reliable,
because we know that a bias and manipulated press would not sell. But technically, if you think about it is
the media really free from manipulation? The biggest television networks are owned by private business
persons who rely heavily on government supports. Even the media cannot escape the political influences
of those in position, thats why Atty. Avecilla emphasized on the saving power of the online media.
Online media promotes people empowerment and pushes the media to provide answers to peoples
questions. It substantially increases transparency and critical thinking. The Freedom of Information Bill
was also discussed along with the silence of the president regarding the bill in his speech. Atty. Avecilla
said, We cannot have absolute freedom, because absolute freedom would be chaotic. Even the FOI is
subjected to limitations provided by law, and these provisions may be messed around by the Congress. He
ended with a reminder saying; Total freedom requires eternal vigilance.
Finally, the last speaker is from the Department of Political Science, Prof. Jean Franco. I
must say shes the funniest of all the speakers, funny but smart. Her first comments were about how long
the speech was, the longest of the four SONAs the President had. She even jokingly complained how she
was forced to watch PNoy for nearly two hours considering hes not the most telegenic guy she knows.
But regarding her political analylsis, she focused mostly on the symbolisms underlying the SONA. For
example, she criticized how the Atenean school hymn was played and sang at the beginning of the event.
Her point being that PNoy must use symbols of unity, not as an Atenean anymore, but as a president. He
not only represent the Ateneo now, but the whole country. Another is how he used case studies through
melodramatic clips of some of the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Progragm, to
concretize the said program.
Generally, the entire forum was very informative and actually entertaining. It was interesting to
see the same speech from different angles. Its funny how before I sat there on the auditorium I was
convinced and a bit impressed not only of the Presidents speech but as well as his performance, and now
it just seems like a show. The discussion really made me think twice. It helped a greatly in promoting
student awareness, which I believe is the first step in taking part. If theres something remarkable about
the Presidents speech it is how he lauded at the end Filipinos who roused their fellow citizens from
apathy, challenged the cynics in our midst, and made the stubborn see reason.