State of the Nation

Allow me to begin this post by apologizing, in advance, for two crimes that I will inflict on the hapless reader. One is borne or ignorance, and the other, my poor taste. I'll leave it up to you which of the two I refer to below, as well as which is the greater crime.

It seems to me that majority of the comments regarding the State of the Nation Address of Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III stems from differing conceptions of what a State of the Nation Address (SONA) should be.


Earlier, I caught respected economist Winnie Monsod on GMA TV taking President Aquino to task for failing to specify solutions for the problems he identified in his speech. While Mrs. Monsod acknowledged that many Filipinos appreciated the brevity of President Aquino's address, she also implied that the SONA shouldn't be crafted around time constraints. In Cuba, she mentions, Fidel Castro's SONA could last up to three hours. In her opinion, a SONA should include steps that must be taken to address issues plaguing the nation so that the President may be held accountable.

Many Filipinos, however, seem to share the opinion that President Aquino, by reiterating his commitment to good governance and zeal for addressing corruption in government, did a creditable job. His message sought to both reassure and, in the end, inspire. As one who recognizes not only the utility of the trappings of theatricality, but the need to infuse a passion bordering on an evangelical sense of mission in life, I can understand how President Aquino's message could resonate among those who want to embody the change they clamor for.

This raises an interesting question. What, therefore, is the SONA for? Historically, the SONA stems from Article VII, Section 10 of the 1935 Constitution:

“The President shall from time to time give to the Congress information on the state of the Nation, and recommend to its consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient."

In the 1987 constitution, this was expanded to some extent, as it is now considered the duty of the duly elected president to deliver the SONA. In Article VII, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution we read that:

“The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session. He may also appear before it at any other time.”

There seem to be no guidelines as to what the function of the SONA should be, other than the fact that the President should acknowledge that the process of governance is essentially one of inclusion. By requiring the President to address the joint session of Congress, all of whom were duly elected through the same democratic process that enables him to speak on behalf of the Filipino people, the framers of our constitution seem to be saying: "With all due respect, Mr. President, there are other people who represent, to some extent or the other, the mandate of the people. You have to work with them. This job is bigger than one man, or a single administration."

This realization, that the SONA is essentially an invitation to work together, adds a new, and it seems, more fundamental dimension to the prevailing school of thought outlined above. Earlier this year, I wrote that:


The ills that beset our beloved country are so widespread, so malignant, and so ingrained in the way that the contemporary Filipino views himself or herself that one term in office is not enough...

We deserve a president and a vice-president who are friends, and not strange bedfellows thrown together by stranger politics. While friendship, camaraderie, and the ability to work well with one another are not essential traits in politics, they are important traits in team sports. Democracy works not because of the ability of individuals to work for the common good. It works because individuals pool their abilities to work together for the common good.

We deserve a government where whatever positive reforms enacted by the current administration may be carried over into the next administration. What is wrong with carrying over the effective policies and reforms enacted by the previous administration? Nothing. Why haven't we done so? Because traditional politics has always proven weightier than transformative politics.


My views still haven't changed. The road to a future where reforms are enacted on the basis of ideals and policies are continued on the basis of effectivity begins with the SONA. When evaluating President Aquino's performance in his first SONA, we shouldn't just ask ourselves whether or not the SONA effectively communicated the goals of his administration in the coming months. We should also ask ourselves whether this SONA helped President Aquino to build the working relationships he will need so that, together, we can eventually address our nation's ills.




Photo Credits:

Picture of President Noynoy Aquino comes courtesy of Shengxian97.blogspot.com