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Parang kailan lang nang sabay-sabay tayong nagpasyang tahakin ang tuwid na daan.

This was one of President Benigno PNoy Aquino IIIs opening statements during his third State of the Nation Address (SONA). This statement embodies all his promises to the Filipino people, who he calls his bosses promises like to part from corruption, poverty, unemployment, faulty systems and so on. His assumption to the Office of the President sparked a hope for all Filipinos to root for a hope for a change, a hope for a better nation. Now that we have entered the third year of his administration, we listen to his news about the state of our country. He started his speech by mentioning his experience during the Martial Law, an experience which led to forming his principles and goals to fight for the ill-treated, to fight the abuser and to correct what is wrong. In line with this, he started comparing and contrasting states and conditions before and during his administration. These included excessive bonuses in some GOCCs, the coffee scam in PAGCOR, backlogs in classrooms, chairs, and books, PhilHealth membership, modernization of the Armed Forces and the lack of budget to answer for all these. What did he do to answer these problems? What solutions did he initiate? Did something really change? Were the lives of the Filipino people improved? Lets try to answer that by looking at the content of his SONA. President Aquino first bragged that changes for the better have now become common. And one thing that first caught my attention was when he said that the Philippines is now open for business under new management. What was formerly known as the Sick Man of Asia is now robust and active. Moreover he reported that for the first quarter of 2012, Philippines had the highest GDP growth of 6.4% in Southeast Asia and second to China in whole of Asia. This is actually good news for everyone because this means that the Philippine economy is growing. This may imply more output, more employment, and the like. PNoy even cited some prominent

personalities and institutions saying that the Philippines could possibly be Asias Next Tiger. But the Filipino people in general are yet to feel this growth in the economy because what is more felt is the grip of poverty in many Filipinos. PNoy also highlighted their efforts and achievements in relation to Health and Education sectors of the country. He stated that 85% of the Filipinos are now members of PhilHealth and more than 30,800 nurses and midwives are now deployed to over 36,000 barangays in the country. This means that Majority of Filipinos now have access to free health services. Also, PNoy pointed out their efforts to eliminate the shortage in classrooms, chairs and books for education which they plan to achieve before the Aquino Administration is terminated. A proposed increase budget for State Colleges and Universities was also reported by PNoy. The governments attention to health and education is also beneficial for the country as this is for economic welfare. Economic development is not only characterized by mere increase in GDP but a sustained economic growth with improvements in the economic welfare, that is, not only in terms of financial figures. However, if we look at our current situation, what do we see? There still are people who cannot access free medication, not with all the obsolete and dysfunctional medical facilities and equipment. Authorities say they buy brand new equipment when in fact such are secondhand and after a few days of use, the so-called brand new machines already need repair. Similarly in the education sector, there is still apparent shortage in classrooms and teaching materials. Even the number of teachers is not sufficient, and that already includes even incompetent teachers. Some teachers lack proper training and experience and many children still cannot afford going to school. These are things are the apparent and easily seen evidence that we still cannot feel what changes has been brought. The government still needs to give more

attention to these sectors because these sectors can contribute a lot to the economic development of our country. Many other things have been said regarding development in our nation. There are the increase in employment (3.1 million jobs) and the decrease in the unemployment rate (now only 6.9%). There is also the construction of new and adequate infrastructure which generates jobs and employment. We also have a 1.5 million increase in tourists, energizing many barangays without electricity, reduction of crime rate and improvisation of our national security. And to top it all is the flourishing of our Agriculture. As an agricultural country we really have to focus more on our agriculture. Studies suggest that before any country becomes industrialized it must first able to develop and utilize its agriculture. That is why the Aquino administration must also give attention to agriculture. The things mentioned greatly contribute to the economic development of the Philippines. However, such developments are, right now, only manifested in figures and not in the actual or physical sense. In line with this, the Aquino Administration must exert more effort in bringing these developments to the senses of the Filipino people. There will be no rallies and no protests if only the people experience the benefit of a growing economy. But it is also worth noting and PNoy also deserves appreciation for his struggle and determination to change the government for the better, to eliminate corruption, to haul the people form poverty, to promote sufficiency and so on. I understand that being a leader is not an easy thing. That is why we, people of the Philippines, must also give our president the chance to prove himself. He, who advocates change, is already doing his job to shoulder the problem of the whole country. Now, we must also do our part to support him as our leader. A quote from the anime One Piece goes, When the leader changes, a country will change, too.

University of the Philippines Visayas Tacloban College Tacloban City

State of the Nation Address 2012 A Reaction Paper

Submitted to Dr. Anita G. Cular

By Marc Joseph T. Loyola

On July 26, 2012

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