Monday, July 26, 2004 Nalzaro: Promises, promises By BOBBY G. NALZARO
PRESIDENT Arroyo is expected to deliver her traditional State of the Nation Address (Sona) during the opening of the 13th Congress at the Batasan Pambansa Complex around four this afternoon.
The date of the annual opening of the Congress is really fixed in our 1987 Constitution. Section 15, Article V1 (The Legislative) states; ‘The Congress shall convene once a year on the fourth Monday of July for its regular session, unless a different date is fixed by law, and shall continue to be in session for such number of days as it may determine until thirty (30) days before the opening of its next regular session, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. The President may call a special session at any time.’
While the opening of Congress is a constitutional provision, the Sona of the President, on the other hand, is only a tradition. She may deliver it or not depending on the wishes of the chief executive. But it has been, as I said, a longtime tradition of past heads of state to deliver the Sona. It is where the chief executive lays down his/her programs of government and legislative agenda.
But political pundits said that today’s Sona of could just be a rehash of what the President said during her inaugural address last June 30. Analysts foresee that there will be nothing new in her Sona except perhaps the much-publicized Angelo dela Cruz hostage crisis in Iraq and his subsequent freedom, in which Arroyo played a vital role.
She ordered the pullout of the Philippine humanitarian contingent in exchange for the release of dela Cruz. Despite the flak she got from foreign allies, the President stood firm on her decision to pull out the Philippine troops from Iraq as demanded by dela Cruz’s captors.
The President has been harping her 10-point legislative agenda since the campaign period and during her inaugural speech. So what else is new, asked some of her critics? In fact, some opposition members are planning to boycott the President’s Sona, saying it is just a rehash of her campaign promises.
Well, maybe the opposition and Arroyo’s critics are right in their forecast that the President might be saying the same concerns. But can we expect her administration to immediately implement her programs of government considering that she is barely one month in office after being given fresh mandate by the electorate?
Yes, she has been in power for three years, but we should take also into consideration that she only inherited some of the country’s problems from a corrupt and immoral regime. Although the legitimacy of her government is being questioned and now a subject of an electoral protest, Arroyo should led this country’s political, economic and moral recovery.
She should show her sincerity and firmness in leading this country into prosperity by setting aside personal and political interests. If she felt she owed some interest groups some debt of gratitude for their Edsa 2, this time she should show her decisiveness in dealing with various problems and in implementing government’s policy to the letter no matter who gets hurt.
After all, she is not only the President for the few and the elite. She is the President of all Filipinos even to her critics and detractors. So, whether the President’s Sona is just a rehash or full of promises, let us give her a chance to prove her worth to carry out her programs with the support of the legislative department and the Filipino people.
