PRESIDENT Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has no plans of embarrassing his predecessor Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in his first State of the Nation Address (Sona) Monday, at least not deliberately.
But Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda hinted that Arroyo, now a member of the 15th Congress, may expect Aquino to enumerate problems he inherited under her administration.
“Kung siya ay matatamaan, yan ay dahil sa pag-enumerate. There is no intention to spite or offend Congresswoman Arroyo. It is only an objective narration of facts. There are no plans to spite her,” Lacierda said on government-run dzRB radio Saturday.
During the campaign leading to the May 10 elections, Aquino run on a platform of anti-corruption, repeatedly scoring irregularities of the Arroyo administration.
Lacierda said Aquino had been spending the weekend meeting members of his Cabinet to triple-check the facts he will enumerate in his Sona on Monday.
A separate report on dzRB said Cabinet members at the Saturday meeting included secretaries Florencio Abad (budget) and Cesar Purisima (finance).
But Lacierda said Aquino will not have Arroyo in mind while crafting the Sona. “Ang ginagawa sa Sona di naming iniisip o inaalala si Congresswoman Arroyo.”
Appeal to public
Lacierda meantime appealed to the public to listen to Aquino’s first Sona, saying it will feature “different” solutions in the sense that they are doable.
“Bagama’t may pasok, we encourage everyone na pakinggan ang talumpati. It will be doable, it will not be something that is pleasing to the ears, it is something we must all hear,” he said.
He also said the Sona will emphasize Aquino’s campaign promise of “Kung walang corrupt walang mahirap (If there is no corruption there will be no poverty).”
The state address will seek to “eradicate corruption and alleviate poverty”.
“Overall, it’s what the president intends to do at kanyang policy direction ... Ang kakaiba siguro ang solution na ibibigay, what is different is ang solution kailangan doable (Overall it features his policy direction. The difference from SONAs of his predecessors lies in the solutions he will present, they should be doable),” he said.
On the other hand, he declined to elaborate on Aquino’s legislative agenda, and only said the public can “expect measures on the eradication of poverty and corruption.” (JMR/Sunnex)