Sonas (State of the Nation Addresses) have never been about the state of the nation. They have always been glittery formal occasions for the President to brag about her/his accomplishments. Understandably so. There is no genuine opposition in the hall. Just sycophant representatives of the upper crust that she/he has to make sit back and relax with a report on how the lives of restive occupants of the rough outer edges of Philippine society have somewhat been smoothened up.
The state of the nation has primarily to do with the country’s economic health. Naturally, the rate of poverty incidence would be its main indicator. Yet no President has ever reported on a game-changing anti-poverty program. PBBM reported solely on the ayuda government gave to the portion of the population that controllers of the economy have programmed to survive on trickles from the system.
Another major indicator of the state of the nation is our system of elections. It is a travesty of the democratic process that all our political parties are in fact factions of one party of the right and that only rich individuals, families in fact, can win office.
This is a negative since the conservative right will never reform the system. Yet, until this is reformed our economy will continue to exclusively benefit the owners of land, business, and industry while the rest of the population will have to get by on the crumbs that fall down.
Another indicator of the economic health of the nation is the level of corruption in government. The country is losing billions to corruption which has only gotten worse since martial law. Yet, PBBM, like all his predecessors, had nothing to report about a fight to reduce much less eliminate corruption.
With PBBM’s breathlessly long Sona, one is led to believe it’s coming up roses for the country. But one has only to go out of the hall of Congress for the Sona to blow up in his face.
From outside and above one sees a building where, dressed in their finest, our leaders, their wives and guests are heard to heartily applaud a lengthy enumeration of the administration’s supposed (nobody is fact-checking, right?) accomplishments. They are the 20 percent that enjoy 80 percent of the benefits of our neo-liberal economy. There is no genuine opposition on the floor.
Also from above, a motley crowd of protesters can be seen waving banners and shouting slogans. They are the genuine opposition, representatives of the 80 percent that has to scramble for a share of the 20 percent that trickles down to them. This is the negative side of the Sona that merits no mention inside.
The goal of government is to promote the country’s inclusive growth and development. The Sona is a misnomer as it is never about inclusivity. Just look at the utter helplessness of the thousands of flood victims crammed into make-shift evacuation centers. They are completely at the mercy of a government that has never enabled them, with quality education, full-time jobs and living wages, to face and survive calamitous times on their own.