Yang Sona

State of the Nation Address of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo during the 3rd Regular Session of the 13th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines Monday, July 24, 2006 Batasan Pambasa Complex, Quezon City Thank you. Thank you, Speaker de Venecia. Congratulations, Senate President Manny Villar; VicePresident Noli de Castro; President Ramos; Chief Justice Panganiban; Members of the diplomatic corps; Senators; Congressmen and Congresswomen; Other officials, ladies and gentlemen. Sa araw na ito, nakatuon ang isip natin sa ating mga kababayan sa Lebanon. Nasa kuko sila ngayon ng malagim na paglala ng digmaan. Kahapon lamang, sinalubong natin ang unang dalawang-daang Pilipinong lumikas doon. Limang-daan pa ang mauuwi natin sa susunod na apat na araw. Sa ating mga OFW, tunay kayong mga bagong bayani. Sa inyong paglilingkod sa pamilya, sa ating bayan at sa Diyos, maraming salamat. Sa ating mga kababayan, a journey of a thousand miles does not begin with a single step. It starts with the first step, with gathering the means to complete it successfully. Those means are now at hand. To my friends in Congress who, in the face of grave political consequences, championed and passed some of the most severe and critical fiscal reforms to save our economy, maraming salamat. You are the true friends of the Filipino people. For the real challenge has never been to blame but to fix what is wrong in our country and our economy. Dahil sa inyo, sa wakas may pondo na tayo, hindi lamang para ibayad sa interes, kundi para sa edukasyon, mas mabuting tulay at kalsada, pagbigay kalinga sa kalusugan at higit na trabaho sa ating bansa. Now, we have the money to pay down our debt and to build up our country. To the civil servants who rose to the challenge of turning a weakening economy to a strong republic, through more vigorous tax collection and more vigilant action against corruption, maraming salamat. We have achieved record revenue collections. We are lining up corrupt officials to face the consequences of their misdeeds. And finally earned the respect of the international community as a serious and viable state for our fiscal discipline and billions of pesos in annual interest savings that are now going into necessary public investments. To our men and women in the armed services, the huge and deep core of your loyalty has earned the nation’s accolade. The few mutineers have been condemned by the people. They and their partisan cohorts and funders are being brought to justice. Sa nakararaming kawal at pulis na nagtaguyod ng watawat at Saligang Batas, maraming salamat.

And at a time when we must each, as individuals and as communities, take greater responsibility, our local government officials man the frontline of change: change for greater accountability, for better service and more responsiveness to their constituents. Sa inyong lahat, mga local government officials, maraming salamat. Higit sa lahat, salamat sa sambayanang Pilipino, para sa inyong mga sakripisyo, sa inyong tiyaga, for believing, in the face of the greatest hardships, in our ability to surmount the obstacles to the future you deserve; you who have resisted persistent if not pathetic calls for despair instead of faith, for anarchy instead of harmony, salamat, salamat, taus- pusong pasasalamat. So I stand before you today to deliver a state of the nation that is focused on what the people want; the people want to know the plan to put us on the path to prosperity. I am not here to talk about politics; I am here to talk about what the people want; details on the state of the nation and what their government is doing to make progress every single day. Sama-sama nating isusulong ang bansa patungo sa kinabukasang nagniningning. Gaya ng nakikita sa graph na ito, dahil sa ating reporma sa ekonomiya, we now have the funds to address social inequity and economic disparity. Too many … masyadong marami, ang mamamayang nagugutom. Hindi ako hihinto hanggang magtagumpay ang ating laban sa kahirapan. We now have the funds to stamp out terrorism and lawless violence. May pondo na tayo para labanan ang katiwalian. Our reforms have earned us P1 billion from the U.S. Millennium Challenge Account for more investigators, prosecutors, and new technology to fight corruption. We are matching this with another billion from our fiscal savings. We now have the funds for constitutional and electoral changes. Sa kasalukuyang sistema, napakabagal ng proseso, at bukas sa labis na pagtutunggali, at sikil ang lalawigan at mamamayan sa paghahari ng Imperial Manila. Panahon nang ibalik ang kapangyarihan sa taumbayan at lalawigan. For surely, there must be a better way to do politics, so that those who lose elections do not make the country pay for their frustrated ambitions. There must be a better way so that those who win the nation’s mandate to govern can work without delay and whimsical obstruction. There must be a better way. Meanwhile, now we can fund the Medium Term Public Investment Program. Sumusulong na ang ating plano na may tatlong yugto. Una, ang makaahon sa mga dekada ng utang at kapos ng pondo. Nagawa na natin ito. Ikalawang yugto, ang pagbabalik sa taumbayan ang mas malaking kita ng pamahalaan: upang makapagpundar ng kalinga sa kalusugan, edukasyon at trabaho na kailangang-kailangan ng mamamayan. Ginagawa na rin natin ito. And finally, Phase Three: to invest in the natural advantages and natural resources of each section of our nation so that when harnessed together, the major economic regions of the nation are larger than the sum of its parts.

We will enhance the competitive advantage of the natural “super regions-”of-thePhilippines: the North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle, the Metro Luzon Urban Beltway, Central Philippines, Mindanao and the Cyber Corridor. In North Luzon, we will prioritize agribusiness investments. The agricultural and fisheries potential of the Cordilleras, Ilocandia, and Cagayan Valley can feed Luzon affordably. And nearness to North Asia holds the rich promise of agricultural exports and tourism. My father built the Halsema Highway from Baguio to Bontoc, and the Bagabag airport in Nueva Vizcaya to access the Ifugao rice terraces, which by the way, the UNESCO has recently praised for the way we have carried out our heritage preservation policy. We have rehabilitated the Baguio to Mount Data leg of the highway and the rest of Halsema will now follow. We will upgrade the Bagabag airport and build a new one in Lallo, Cagayan, which will connect to Cordillera by upgrading the Tabuk-Tuguegarao Road. Sa Tabuk, Kalinga, noong Abril, tumanggap ng titulo sa lupa ang ilang matatanda, pagkatapos nilang naghintay ng dalawampung taon mula noong napirmahan ang Mount Data Accord ng gobyerno at ng Cordillera People’s Liberation Army. May isang matanda, suot ang lumang uniporme ng CPLA. Pumila, hila-hila ang isang binatilyo. Sabi niya, “This is not for me but for him.” Agad inabot ang titulo sa apo. Narito ngayon si Ginoong Ama Balunggay at ang kaniyang apo si Jacob. And our post-harvest support shall continue, like the cold chain that we set up in 2004 for La Trinidad, Benguet under Mayor Nestor Fongwan. It consisted of a refrigerated storage facility and refrigerated trucks to deliver vegetables to Metro Manila. Nais kong tumaas ang kita ng mga magsasaka, at ang ina ng bawat tahanan ay makabili ng mura at sariwang gulay para sa kaniyang mga anak. So that the people will know how well their money is spent, Benguet and its towns of Bakun, Bokod and Itogon have rolled out the new electronic government accounting system in their jurisdictions. If Ifugao was able to cut its poverty in half in the first three years of our administration, from 56 to 28%, congratulations. We hope that through these programs, the other provinces can replicate the success of Ifugao. Hangad nating dumami ang mga tagaCordillera sa mga propesyon na tinitingalaan ng bayan, gaya ng mga abogadong gaya nina Maurice Domogan at Romeo Brawner. Ibig din nating makapaghanda ang Cordillera sa awtonomiya pagdating ng pederalismo, ayon nawa sa pagbabago ng Saligang Batas. Sa Dagupan, inilunsad na ng mga kolehiyo gaya ng Northwestern Lyceum University and ladderized system of education. Sa ganitong sistema, magagamit sa unibersidad and mga kursong kinuha sa vocational school at ang karanasan sa trabaho. We will expand President Ramos�� flagship San Roque Multipurpose Dam with the massive Agno River Project. Another major project is the Banaoang Irrigation. We allocate P200 million a month for small irrigation projects like those in the flood control plan of the Region II Development Council headed by Bishop Ramon Villena. Plus

another P200 million a month for farm to market roads. Also in the works is an international airport in Poro, La Union and the improvement of the two airports in Batanes as recommended by Governor Vic Gato. Ilocos Sur will have a seaport in Salomague while the Cagayan Zone Authority will better the one in Port Irene. To save dollars, windmills in Batanes and Ilocos Norte turn megawinds into megawatts. When Army Commander Romy Tolentino was North Luzon commander, he became a soldier-farmer, planting jatropha as yet another alternative fuel. The Metro Luzon Urban Beltway spans most of Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Mindoro and Marinduque. It must be a globally competitive urban, industrial and services center, because it produces more than half of the country’s GDP. To be world-class we invest in five comprehensive strategies for global competitiveness: 1. Make food plentiful and affordable to keep our labor cost globally competitive. 2. Reduce the cost of electricity to make our factories regionally competitive. 3. Modernize infrastructure at least cost to efficiently transport goods and people. 4. Mobilize, upgrade and disseminate knowledge and technologies for productivity. 5. Reduce red tape in all agencies to cut business costs. The most prohibitive red tape is in our outmoded Constitution. We need Constitutional change to bring our rules of investment into the new millennium The new public bidding process has been shortened to 45 days for infrastructure, and 26 days for supplies, as of today. Even before this, Metro Manila firms paying bribes for public contracts declined from 57% in 2003 to 46 today. Congratulations, Metro Manila Machine readable electronic passports will enhance the credibility of Philippine travel documents, improve the mobility and increase the prospects of Philippine business and labor. Legitimate mobility is hampered by human trafficking. Through the support of the USAID, we have convicted human traffickers with the Tongco spouses who were sentenced in a Quezon City court last December. These accomplishments removed us from the from the priority anti-trafficking watchlist. To lower power costs we introduced the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market last month. Let��s give it a chance to work. And we would like big power consumers like electronics, our number one exports, to avail of lower power rates from the National Power Corporation. On coco-biodiesel, we now have enough capacity for the proposed 1% blend just waiting to be passed into law.

The Subic-Clark corridor is on its way to a competitive international logistics center. This will be my legacy to my cabalens, jointly with Lito and Mark Lapid, Rey Aquino, Ana Bondoc, Blue Boy Nepomuceno, my son Mikey and Tarzan Lazatin. We jumpstarted it with giant investments in the Subic Seaport, the Clark Airport, and the Subic-ClarkTarlac Expressway. And to bring the beltway to the west we will connect the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Road to Dingalan Port through Nueva Ecija, and the Marikina- Infanta Road to the port of Real. Upang ibsan ang pagod ng mga empleyadong namamasahe sa trapiko sa Kalakhang Maynila, mangangapital tayo sa mga expressway at tren. We will have a continuous highway from Clark to Metro Manila to Batangas Port. Tapo�Vs na iyong expressway mula Clark hanggang Maynila.. Sa ngayon wala nang isang oras ang biyahe mula Clark hanggang Monumento. Ngayon iiwasan natin ang trapiko mula Monumento, dahil idudugtong natin ang North Expressway sa C-5. Tutulong si Sonny Belmonte sa right-of-way. Ang C-5 naman ay konektado na sa South Luzon Expressway. Ang South Luzon Expressway ay pinapalapad naman hanggang Calamba. Sa Agosto, pahahabain ito hanggang Batangas. We will also build the Coastal Road to Bacoor, which has become urban under Jesse Castillo. Pagdurugtungin natin ang MRT at LRT mula Monumento hanggang North EDSA upang mabuo ang biyahe paikot sa Kamaynilaan, at maibsan ang trapik. We will construct the Northrail to Clark and the Southrail to Lucena and on to Bicol, and upgrade the link between them. We will also extend the LRT to Bacoor. Sa pagbilis ng biyahe patungo at palabaas ng Metro Manila, makakatira ang manggagawa sa mas mura at maaliwalas na lalawigan. Maayos na ang kapaligiran sa riles ng tren sa South Superhighway. Masaya ang mga pamilyang hinatid namin ni Vice President Noli de Castro sa kanilang bago at permanenteng relokasyon. Teddy Boy Locsin said it hadn’t been done before, and couldn’t be done at all. Well, Teddy? Ngayon gagawin ito sa Maynila, si Lito Atienza ang bahala. We thank China for agreeing to fund these housing needs. Huwaran ng ating programang pabahay para sa mahihirap ang mga proyekto ng Iglesia ni Kristo at Gawad Kalinga. Ngunit kapos sa tubig ang mga taga-West Zone ng Kamaynilaan. Kaya bibigyan natin ng prayoridad hindi lamang ang edukasyon, koryente, enerhiya at kalusugan, kundi tubig din. We are setting up a 300 million liters per day pumping station for Muntinlupa, Las Pinas and Paranaque. We will build a roll-on-roll-roll-off port system to link Lucena, Quezon to Boac, Marinduque, like the Batangas-Mindoro RORO. Sa ganitong mga proyekto, palalakasin natin ang ekonomiya ng mga barangay at lalawigan. And we will end the long oppression of barangays by rebel terrorists who kill

without qualms, even their own. Sa mga lalawigang sakop ng 7th Division, nakikibaka sa kalaban si Jovito Palparan. Hindi siya aatras hanggang makawala sa gabi ng kilabot ang mga pamayanan at maka-ahon sa buka�Vng-liwayway ng hustisya at kalayaan. In the harshest possible terms I condemn political killings. We together stopped judicial executions with the abolition of the death penalty. We urge witnesses to come forward. Together we will stop extrajudicial executions. Central Philippines has the competitive edge in tourism in its natural wonders and the extraordinary hospitality of its people. The area sweeps across Palawan and Romblon, the Visayas and Bicol, plus the northern Mindanao islands of Camiguin, Siargao and Dapitan. Topbilled by Boracay, Cebu, Bohol and Palawan, it attracts more than half of the foreign tourists to the Philippines. It is also the center of geothermal power in the country, which we continue to develop. The priority here is tourism investments. Coming soon for superstar Boracay are an instrument landing system for the Kalibo airport and a P3 billion private investment in a San Jose, Romblon airport, plus good roads to spillover destinations all over Panay. In Cebu, Gwen Garcia is constructing a world-class convention center for the ASEAN and East Asian Summits in December. Helping our infrastructure upgrading, is the fall in bribery for public sector contracts in Metro Cebu, from 62% of companies in 2004 to 47 today. Congratulations to Cardinal Vidal for shepherding his flock and to Metro Cebu Mayors Osmena, Ouano and Fernandez, and Metro Cebu representatives del Mar, Cuenco, Gullas and Soon-Ruiz. Bohol became a destination distinct from Cebu since it defeated the terrorist insurgency with community initiatives led by the power tandem of Rico Aumentado and General Johnny Gomez, now the NCR Commander. It now merits its own international airport, just as our country deserves a world-class Constitution strongly supported by Governor Aumentado and the league of local authorities. Tourism in Palawan requires the upgrading of the airports of Puerto Princesa, Busuanga, San Vicente ( hometown of Congressman Alvarez that��s why he��s clapping) and the building of a new one in Balabac; as well as a continuous road backbone from El Nido to Bataraza. We will lengthen the Dumaguete runway for tourism as well as electronics. Valencia, Oriental Negros could attract semiconductor firms with power rates subsidized by the geothermal field of Palimpinon. Negros will also advance energy independence with ethanol projects in San Carlos City and Tamlang Valley, once the biofuel law is passed. (You have done your part, Migs) We will serve Guimaras by the airport being built in Santa Barbara, Iloilo and by a new RORO port in Sibunag. We will link Sipalay via Silay airport funded by the national government and Kabankalan airport being built by its local government. Thank you.

For Bicol’s whalesharks, beaches and, of course, Mount Mayon, we have started acquiring the right of way for an international airport in Daraga, Albay. We will provide the means to the perfect surfs of the Pacific by upgrading the airports of Siargao, Guiuan and Tacloban. We will widen the road to Dakak in Dapitan, and RORO will connect Siquijor to Santander, Cebu; Camiguin to Jagna, Bohol; Ubay, Bohol to Maasin, Southern Leyte, for diving in Limasawa. We will bring Masbate and Biliran into the RORO Eastern Nautical Highway from Surigao through Leyte through Naval and Maripipi in Biliran through Esperanza, Aroroy and Burias Island in Masbate and on to Bicol. The much-awaited 10-megawatt generator set arrived in Masbate last Saturday. It is ready to power up the province before the end of the month. Camiguin, Romblon and Camarines Norte got out of the list of poorest provinces in 2003. With tourism these provinces can become rich. Also winning the war against poverty and calamity, undaunted by unimaginable catastrophe, the valiant people of Southern Leyte, under the leadership of Rosette Lerias and Oging Mercado (our Rudy Guliani) are rebuilding the lives of Saint Bernard and San Francisco from their tragic mudslides. Yesterday, I asked the Japanese government to help Southern Leyte implement an integrated management approach to deal with their critical ecosystem, like the one the World Bank has approved for the Bicol River Basin. Mindanao is our priority for agribusiness investments in the south. Mindanao is mostly fertile and largely typhoon-free, exporting coconut products and high value crops, and from its waters come 40% of the country’s fish catch. Our investment priorities mirror those for North Luzon, and more because Mindanao has the poorest regions and poorest provinces and because we have to spend on a logistics system linking it to the north. In 2003 we introduced the RORO from Zamboanga del Norte through Negros, Panay and Mindoro to Batangas. This system has slashed travel time from Mindanao to Luzon from 36 hours to 24 hours, and freight cost by 30 percent, so crucial to food shipments. Now we will develop more routes like the one from Cagayan de Oro through Camiguin, Bohol, Cebu and Masbate to Bicol, the Central Nautical Highway. Also in 2003, Sulu, Lanao del Sur, and Tawitawi registered double-digit declines in poverty incidence from the year 2000. Congratulations. Kitang-kita ang pag-ibayo ng mga isla ng Sulu, Basilan at Tawi-Tawi. Nagbukas ang Jollibee sa Basilan. The Balikatan exercises with the United States, combined with the US GEM program and other donor-assisted projects, have no doubt contributed to this. Sa Sulu, isang araw ng Mayo, umuulan, nagwakas ang isang mahabang pagtutunggali nang pumasok ang mga kawal at sibilyan sa Kampong Bitan-ag sa Panamao na hawak ng

mga rebelde. Nagyakapan at nagkamayan ang dalawang panig. Dahil sa matinding pagnanais para sa kapayapaan ni Marine General Ben Dolorfino, naganap ang pagkakasundo. Gayon natapos ang isang madugong kabanata. Congratulations, General Ben Dolorfino. Susi sa anumang pag-ibayo ang malakas na suporta at ma-abilidad na liderato ng pamahalaang local. Halimbawa, iyong “from arms to farms�� ni Governor Ben Loong ng Sulu, with his caravan of tractors literally invading former rebel camps in his province. Congratulations. Mahigit isang linggong nakaraan, dumating sa “Eleven Islands” ang daan-daang rebeldeng at kanilang pamilya, sa pamumuno ng dating MNLF Commander na si Aribari Samson. Dito sa mga pulo na kilalang “no man’s island,” dati nagtatago ang mga rebelde at criminal. Ngayon sa tulong ng isang programa ng United Nations, nagtayo tayo ng dalawang daang tahanan at panibagong buhay para sa pangkat ni Samson. Thank you for giving peace a chance. Congratulations, Commander Samson. I take this occasion to express our gratitude to the donor community from the US, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the European Union, Australia, Japan, our ASEAN neighbors, the multilaterals and the rest of the world. Thank you for helping us in our peace process. If we can harness the forces of good in our nation, the positive force at work here at home and those from abroad such as the US, Malaysia, the OIC and others, we shall prevail in Mindanao with a peace agreement that brings freedom and hope to all Filipinos. With this peace, we would reap dividends in resources invested in agribusiness, not aggression, to build up, not tear down, the Philippine south. Among the possible peace dividends would be pro-poor road projects like the SioconSirawai-Sibuco-Baligyan Road in Zamboanga del Norte; the Lebak to Maguindanao which Sim Datumanong started when he was Secretary of Public Works; the Dinagat Island road network in Surigao Del Norte; the Hawilian-Salug-Sinakungan barangay road in Agusan del Sur; the Pangil Bay Bridge; and the Surigao-Davao Road, which we want to be as beautiful as the Bukidnon Highway completed during the administration of Joe Zubiri and the term of Migs Zubiri. Mindanao’s number one export, coconuts, has been growing continuously for the last three years, at the rate of 10% a year. The coconut farmers deserve a portion of the peace dividend. I invite Congress and the Bishops-Ulama-Priests-Pastors-Farmer-Lumad Conference led by Archbishop Fernando Capalla to help me ensure their rightful share. On top of peace and investment, progress also demands good governance. I congratulate Donkoy Emano for the drop in reports of corruption for public contracts in Cagayan de Oro from 65% of firms last year to 38 this year. Also Rudy Duterte and the other leaders of Metro Davao led by Majority Leader Boy Nograles for a similar drop, 57% last year to 49 now. Things are coming together for Mindanao, a prelude to their readiness for

eventual federalism. The Cyber Corridor will boost telecommunications, technology and education. The corridor runs the length of all the super regions, from Baguio to Cebu to Davao. The cities of Davao, Tagum and Samal Island Garden all operate electronic government accounting systems. There are many wings now to the corridor because enterprising local executives like L-Ray Villafuerte and Jerry Trenas have aggressively attracted call centers to their jurisdictions (Congratulations, Jerry) In this corridor, the English and information and communication technology skills of the youth give them a competitive edge in call centers and other business process outsourcing. In 2001, in this hall, we hailed ICT as a key growth sector. So we built up telecommunications infrastructure and opened the market for Internet phone calls. Today international calls cost 6 cents a minute, down from 40 cents. From 2,000 BPO workers in 2001, we now have 200,000. I had coffee with some call center agents last Labor Day. Lyn, a new college graduate, told me, “Now I don’t have to leave the country in order for me to help my family. Salamat po.” I was so touched, Lyn by your comments. With these structural reforms, we not only found jobs, but kept families intact. Thank God, I thought, or someone might also try to impeach me for violating Article 15 of the Constitution on the solidarity of the family as the foundation of the nation. As Louie Villafuerte argues, to step into the future, a country that wants to be a player in the global economy needs bold and well-funded research and development initiatives of its own. To this end, we will continuously increase the budget for science and technology, and education. For in today’s global economy, knowledge is the greatest creator of wealth. In summary, I named only a few priorities to illustrate that on many fronts, your government is working, and working well. Our economy is now growing over the longest period in the last quarter-century: 22 consecutive quarters of growth. Umakyat ng mahigit tatlumpung porsyento ang kita ng pinakamahihirap na pamilya sa unang tatlong taon ng ating panunungkulan, at bumaba ang dami ng maralita sa 25% ng mga pamilya, mula 28%, katumbas ng dalawang milyong katao na lumaya sa kahirapan. According to Thornton and Punongbayan, 70% of medium-sized business owners are optimistic, the fifth most optimistic among 30 countries, just behind India, Ireland, South Africa and China. Bickering in politics may delay, but not derail the initiatives that need to be taken on our pro-poor, pro-growth, and pro-peace agenda. Regardless of the fate of the national budget, we must automate our election process. Local governments must get their rightful share of revenues. I ask Congress to pass a supplemental budget to effect this. We are a great people. We have honest students and honest cops. We have scaled the heights of Mount Everest, dominated the Southeast Asian games, we have won international beauty titles, and of course punched our way to triumph in the boxing world.

Our people compete and win every day in every imaginable job throughout the world. Individually, we’ve taken the world on and won; together, we must take on the challenge of creating a new, peaceful, humane and competitive nation and prevail. For those who want to pick up old fights, we’re game but what a waste of time. Why not join hands instead? Join hands in the biggest challenge of all, where we all win or we all lose: the battle for the survival and progress of our one and only country. After three years, eleven months, and six days, I shall relinquish the Presidency, with much if not all that I have outlined completed. I do not want it said then that, in the end, I defeated my enemies. I would rather have it said that all of us, you and I, friends and foes today, achieved together a country progressive, prosperous and united. Thank you. Mabuhay!source

State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2007 - Pres. Arroyo Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye gave insights on what President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will discuss on her SONA which she will deliver before a joint session of Congress on July 23. The President is said to talk about: her vision of the Philippines as first world in 20 years, and what she would be doing in the next three years to achieve the vision, an update on what government has so far achieved in terms of the Super Regions infrastructure framework that she unveiled in her 2006 SONA, a central theme sustaining a strong economy and investing in human capital and physical infrastructure, enumerate what the doables are this year towards making the country more competitive and more attractive for investors, cover the subject of waging peace in Mindanao, which should cover not just the fight against terror, but also the development initiatives to realize the full potential of Mindanao, give an update on the infrastructure projects she outlined in her Sona last year and will announce reforms and investments in education and social services. According to Bunye, the President herself writes and rewrites her Sona in her laptop computer and the final version is completed only a few minutes before she boards her vehicle to Congress. Update: Download the full text of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s SONA 2007 (pdf file) (7pm July 23) STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS President of the Republic of the Philippines Her Excellency PRESIDENT GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO JULY 23, 2007 Thank you. Thank you very much Speaker De Venecia, Senate President Villar, other newly elected leaders of both Houses, congratulations to you, Senators and Congressmen and Congresswomen. Vice President De Castro, former President Ramos, Chief Justice Puno, our host Mayor, Mayor Sonny Belmonte, other government officials, members of the Diplomatic Corps, ladies and gentlemen. We meet here today to inaugurate a new Congress after a fresh election. I congratulate every elected official, from municipal to provincial to Congress on hard fought and successful campaigns. Tapos na ang halalan at pamumulitika; panahon na para maglingkod nang walang damot, mamuno nang walang pangamba maliban sa kagalingan ng bayan, and to govern with wisdom, compassion, vision and patriotism. Hangarin kong mapabilang ang Pilipinas sa mayayamang bansa sa loob ng dalawampung taon. By then poverty shall have been marginalized; and the marginalized raised to a robust middle class.

We will have achieved the hallmarks of a modern society, where institutions are strong. By 2010, the Philippines should be well on its way to achieving that vision. With the tax reforms of the last Congress, and I thanked the last Congress, we have turned around our macroeconomic condition through fiscal discipline, toward a balanced budget. Binabayaran ang utang, pababa ang interes, at paakyat ang pondo para sa progreso ng sambayanang Pilipino!!! Maraming salamat ulit sa nakaraang Congress. We have been investing hundreds of billions in human and physical infrastructure. The next three years will see record levels of well thought out and generous funding for the following priorities: First, investments in physical, intellectual, legal and security infrastructure to increase business confidence. Imprastraktura para sa negosyo at trabaho. Isang milyong trabaho taon-taon. Second, investments in a stronger and wider social safety net murang gamot, abot-kayang pabahay, eskwelang primera klase, mga gurong mas magaling at mas malaki ang kita, mga librong de-kalidad, more scholarships for gifted students, and language instruction to maintain our lead in English proficiency. Dunong at kalusugan ang susi sa kasaganaan. Third, investments in bringing peace to Mindanao; in crushing terrorism wherever it threatens regardless of ideology; and in putting a stop to human rights abuses whatever the excuse. We pay tribute to the fearless fourteen who were savagely massacred at Tipo-Tipo trying to pursue a peaceful and progressive Philippines. We will not disappoint their hopes. We will not waste their sacrifice. We will not be swayed from the course we have set in this conflict for peace with justice throughout our land. We have created a Philippine model for reconciliation built on interfaith dialogue, expanded public works and more responsive social services. These investments show both sides in the Mindanao conflict that they have more at stake in common; and a greater reason to be together than hang apart, including being together isolating the terrorists. Imprastraktura ang haliging nagtitindig hindi lamang ng kapayapaan kundi ng ating buong makabagong ekonomiya: mga kalsada, tulay, paliparan, public parks and power plants. Last year I unveiled the Super Regions - Mindanao, Central Philippines, North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle, Luzon Urban Beltway and the Cyber Corridor - to spread development away from an inequitable concentration in Metro Manila. Hindi lamang Maynila ang Pilipinas. The Super Regions was not a gimmick for the occasion but the blueprint for building a future. In Mindanao, our food basket, I said we would prioritize agribusiness

investments. And I am happy to see that the latest survey in June shows the hunger rate has sharply gone down nationwide. We have done that. The Departments of Agriculture, Agrarian Reform, and Environment and Natural Resources will devote 30 percent of their program budgets to Mindanao. DAR will move to Davao. Dapat maging daan sa tagumpay sa agribusiness ang reporma sa lupa. Done right, reform will democratize success, as Ramon Magsaysay and Diosdado Macapagal envisioned. We must reform agrarian reform so it can transform beneficiaries into agribusinessmen and other agribusiness women. Sa gayon, dadami pa ang mga tampok na magsasaka gaya ng mga nagwagi ng Gawad Saka, sina Ananias Cuado ng Comval at Demetrio Tabelon ng Butuan; at Nelson Taladhay ng Sultan Kudarat, pangunahing agrarian reform beneficiary ng 2007. We also have outstanding farmers from the other superregions, like Joseph Fernando and Heherson Pagulayan, Nestor Bautista, Joseph Lomibao, Arturo Marcaida, Peter Uy, Arturo Pasacas and Glenn Saludar. Sa anim na taon nagtayo tayo at nag-ayos ng patubig para sa isang milyong ektarya sa buong bansa - pinakamalaki sa matagal na panahon. Magtatayo tayo ng mariculture o palaisdaan sa dagat. Isa rito ay ilalagay natin sa Sibutu. Hiling ito ni Nur Jaafar. Para sa buong bansa naglaan tayo ng P3 billion para sa tatlong libong kilometro ng farm to market roads. Sanlibong kilometro sa Mindanao. Gawa na ang tatlong daan. The road and RORO network has cut the cost of bringing agribusiness products from Mindanao to Luzon. A 10-wheeler used to pay P32 thousand from Dapitan to Batangas. Now it pays P11 thousand. Fresh fish that cost P20 thousand a ton to move, now travels at P14 thousand. Construction is criss-crossing Mindanao: Dapitan-Dakak to bring Cely Carreon’s paradise closer to civilization; Sibuco-Siraway-SioconBaliguian; Dinagat Island Network, a baptismal gift for Glenda Ecleo’s new province; the 66-kilometer Manay-Mati section of Davao-Surigao; and Maguindanao-Lebak, Sim Datumanong’s brainchild when he headed DPWH. We want better airports, new bridges and ample energy for Mindanao’s rising economy. The Dipolog and Pagadian airports will be improved by year’s end. Also the Cotabato airport. No doubt eagerly awaited by Au Cerilles, Rolando Yebes, Digs Dilangalen, Ros Labadlabad and Victor Yu, and Mayors Evelyn Uy and Sammy Co. Last July 10 we inaugurated the P1.7 billion, 900 meter bridge in Butuan, built on the initiative of Mayor Boy Daku Plaza, near the P4 billion second-generation flood control project that we also built. The

first was built by my father after the great Butuan flood of the 1960’s. Kailangan ipagtanggol ang kapaligiran at mamamayan sa sakuna. In Agusan del Norte, I hope Edel Amante will be happy with our plans to pilot micro agribusiness in Jabonga. On July 8, Ozamis Airport opened, bankrolled partly by Leo Ocampos, Aldo Parojinog and Hermie Ramiro’s congressional fund. Now, that’s the kind of pork that has good cholesterol. At that occasion the MOU was signed for the Pangil Bay Bridge that will connect Ozamis to Lanao del Norte and Iligan. As urged by Bobby Dimaporo, I declared Mt. Inayawan Range a protected nature park. On Mayor Lawrence Cruz’s recommendation, I instruct DPWH to build the Iligan Circumferential Road. In 2001, we opened a solar plant in Cagayan de Oro. Still, Mindanao faced a 100-megawatt gap by 2009 out now a 210-megawatt clean coal plant in Phividec will fill that gap. We count on Oca Moreno and Tinex Jaraula to continue providing a good investment climate. We thank Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Migz Zubiri for sponsoring the Biofuels Law in the last Congress. We now have 160 thousand hectares of jatropha nurseries in Bukidnon and 30,000 in General Santos. Jatropha is a 100% substitute for diesel, with only 5% of its emission. Mindanao’s energy challenge lies not in generating power but in power lines. Terrorists target transmission towers. We must resolutely apply the Human Security Act. This act was first filed by Johnny Enrile in 1996, 3 years after the first World Trade Center bombing, 4 years before the Rizal Day bombing and 5 years before 9/11. He ably crafted the final Senate version with Senate President Manny Villar and Nene Pimentel. Let’s now go to Central Philippines, our tourism super region: * We protect its natural wonders and provide the means to travel to those wonders. * For Boracay, the leading overall destination, the Kalibo Airport is now international with an instrument landing system as we said last year. Next is an P80 million terminal on request of Joben Miraflores. * The Aklan-Libertad-Pandan Road, waiting for Japan to approve the contractors, will connect Boracay to the nature park we declared in Northwest Panay Peninsula. We are improving other Panay roads and building the road from the Iloilo Airport which we inaugurated in Santa Barbara to Iloilo and the Metro Radial Road that Mayor Jerry Treñas asked for when we inaugurated the airport, Art Defensor conceived the airport when he was governor, Governor Niel Tupaz midwifed its delivery when we inaugurated the airport, I said … * Iloilo connects to Guimaras via Jordan Wharf. We thank Congress for the P900 million oil spill calamity fund to save the environment of Guimaras. I thank once again the previous Congress. It is back on its feet. The other side of the island will connect to Bacolod soon because we started building the Sibunag RORO Port last May on

recommendation of Governor, now Congressman, Rahman Nava. * Bacolod-Silay Airport, near the nature park we declared in Northern Negros, is completed and just awaiting the access road requested by Monico Puentevella. * We awarded the contract for upgrading the Dumaguete airport as I reported to George Arnaiz last week. * Boracay investors are expanding in Palawan, whose Tubbataha Reefs we declared a nature park. After the Puerto Princesa-Roxas Road last year, we opened Taytay-El Nido in March. The P1 billion Taytay-Roxas section is ongoing. San Vicente airstrip and Busuanga Airport are under construction. And Mayor Hagedorn is reminding us to work on the Puerto Princesa terminal. * Under construction are airport aprons of the surfing edens: Governor Ben Evardone’s pet project in Guiuan and Lalo Matugas’s home town in Siargao. * A 100-megawatt energy gap looms in the Visayas in 2009. The Korea Electric plant in Cebu will plug in 200 megawatts only in 2010 so there’s a one year gap. Meantime three power barges will supply 100 megawatts and the Panay diesel power plant will increase its run from 70 megawatts to 100. * In Central Cebu, we proclaimed a nature park. From Cebu, the top destination for foreign tourists, they can easily radiate to other destinations. Optimism is infectious, and opportunity irresistible. Progress follows progress. Someone, even government, just has to get it started. * Going south, Cebu connects to Tubigon and on to Ubay, Jagna and Panglao through the Bohol Circumferential Road that we inaugurated last May 9. The local government has acquired 85 percent of the land for the international airport on Panglao Island, now a tourism destination of its own. * Ubay links to Maasin RORO Port which was completed last October. Now I hope there will be more divers for Mian Mercado. * Jagna RORO Port opened last May 9. It will connect to Loloy Romualdo’s Mambajao in November, and on to Guinsiliban, the gateway to Mindanao. * Going north from Cebu City, we take the North Coastal Road to Daanbantayan which was recommended to us by Gwen Garcia. Heavy traffic will ease when the P1.2 billion Mandaue-Consolacion Bridge opens. This will be good not only for Malapascua tourism but also for Nitoy Durano’s industrial city of Danao. * Daanbantayan, Benhur Salimbangon’s home port, connects to Naval, Maripipi, or Esperanza, which started construction last May. We aim to finish all three RORO Ports next year. * Esperanza will link by road to Aroroy in 2009. I’ll be there with Lina Seachon and Tony Kho for the inauguration. Please invite me. * Last May, I switched on the lights of Masbate in a Palace ceremony.

But the long-term solution will come next year when a new power plant will serve half a million customers on the beautiful but isolated island of Masbate. * From Aroroy we can go to Claveria, whose RORO ramp is under construction. On to Pasacao where RORO operations started in 2002. That’s Bong Bravo of Claveria. This brings us to Bicol, including Mt Isarog Park. * Mt. Isarog feeds the Bicol River. For the next three years we are funding the Bicol River Basin and Watershed with the World Bank at $15 million for irrigation, flood control and water conservation. For Bicol, we have given P7 billion for the Bicol Calamity and Rehabilitation Effort, that is the biggest one-time calamity fund release in our history. At last, Bicol is getting its rightful share. And, so is the North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle: * We are building 1,000 kilometers of farm-to-market roads; 200 are done. Ngayong tapos na ang election ban, pinapaspasan ang trabaho para sa nalalabing target. * Halsema Highway from Mount Data to Bontoc and the TabukTinglayan Road are being built. If you look the chart, there is something incomplete in between. * So that the Cordillera LGUs can build more of their much-needed roads, I ask Congress to require companies to pay directly to the LGUs their share of the natural wealth. I hope, Governor Dalog hears that. * Nagtatayo tayo ng mga paliparan para sa mga produkto ng agribusiness. * Noong 2005 nagka-airport sa Baler. Sunod ang airport sa Casiguran. At kalsada sa pagitan. * There were no takers in the bidding for to upgrade the Batanes runways so ATO will get it done before the end of the year with the support of DPWH and Governor Telesforo Castillejos. * Joe de Venecia and Mayor Nani Braganza are asking for an airport in Alaminos. Will do. * The Cagayan Economic Zone Authority and the private sector expanded the San Vicente naval airstrip, so we don’t have need to build Lallo. * Sa Lallo naman mayroon tayong inaprobahan na agribusiness ecozone. Ang mga agribusiness ecozone ay payo ni Pangulong Ramos. Chief Justice Puno, I am happy to see you here. It is the first time that a Chief Justice attended. * The Tarlac-La Union Toll Road will be advertised for private sector BOT bidding this August. * Poro Point’s international terminal started construction early this year. The Bagabag airport is being lengthened. We are spreading the cheer across the political spectrum from Vic Ortega to Caloy Padilla. Inuuna ang bansa, at itinatabi ang politika. * Some towns in Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and Isabela are included in

the geo-hazard mapping we have done for 700 cities and towns all over the country to protect the environment. * The Bangui Bay Wind Power Project which was put up when Bongbong Marcos was governor, is now expanding. Sa paggamit ng hangin, nababawasan ang kailangang langis sa enerhiya. And now the Luzon Urban Beltway, our top magnet for industry and investment: * This quarter we start the P5 billion Mt. Pinatubo Hazard Urgent Mitigation Project that will protect San Fernando City, Sasmuan, Guagua and my home town Lubao from flooding. * The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Express Road is in its final stages. This firstworld road will cut travel time between Clark and Subic from two hours to 30 minutes. Gagawa tayo ng interchange sa Porac, bayan ni Lito Lapid. * Last Thursday with Dick Gordon we inaugurated the container port that will make Subic together with Clark one of the best international service and logistics centers in the region. * Clark airport got its approach control radar in April. It now has 50 international flights and 50 cargo flights a week, the second busiest after NAIA. We want more airline service centers there. Now, speaking of NAIA, I’m sure everyone wants to know about NAIA Terminal 3. The ceiling that fell wasn’t the only thing in danger of falling. There are more serious dangers from construction and structural defects. We cannot risk the grim consequences of a major earthquake. But NAIA is accelerating the remediation, completion and opening of the terminal. Public safety comes first. * Since public safety comes first, I ask Congress to create the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. * Last year, I said we would connect North and South Expressways through C-5. Ginagawa na ang C-5 bandang Katipunan. Kausap na ang UP para sa bagong daan patungong Commonwealth, na kasulukuyang pinapalapad at North Avenue. Sa kabilang dulo ng Mindanao Avenue, binibili na ang lupa para sa bagong daan mula Barangay Talipapa hanggang Malinta at tuloy sa NLEX. Sana bumawas ang trapik paNorth Manila. * We just broke ground to continue the Skyway up to Alabang. In a year the fast train from Caloocan to Alabang will be serving thousands daily. From Alabang to Santo Tomas the South Luzon Expressway is currently being widened. And by March, Ricky Reyes SLEX will reach Batangas Port. * The Coastal Road to Bong Revilla’s province is finally under construction. * Our investment in vital infrastructure is already bearing fruit, such as the $1-billion Hanjin shipbuilding facility, said to be the largest in the world, and the $1-billion Texas Instruments microchip plant in Clark. Maging ex-OFW at ex-tambay kapwang nakahanap ng trabaho sa mga

malalaking puhunan na ito. * As we build industry, we must ensure people have clean air to breathe. We have closed 88 firms for polluting the environment. Gaya ng sabi ko, una ang kaligatasan ng publiko. * We proclaimed a critical habitat within the coastal lagoon of Las Pinas and Paranaque. * Maynilad’s new owners have invested P7 billion to bring clean and, at last, running water to Paranaque, Parola and elsewhere. Manila Water did a similar P2 billion project for Antipolo. * Gumagawa tayo ng septage tank sa Antipolo sa halagang P600 million na maglilinis ng sewage bago ito dumaloy sa mga estero, gaya ng tinayo ng Manila Water sa Taguig at sa San Mateo. * Matapos ang maraming taong usapan, ang ating administrasyon ang nakapagsimula ng Flood Control Project sa Kalookan, Malabon, Navotas at Valenzuela (CAMANAVA). * On energy, Luzon needs 150 megawatts more by 2010. This is covered by the 350-megawatt, $350 million expansion of the Pagbilao plant by Marubeni and Tokyo Electric, part of their $4 billion that constitutes the biggest Japanese investment in Philippine history. * We count on the Governor Raffy Nantes and the people of Quezon to somehow to reduce the cost of electricity. I ask Congress to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act for open access and more competition. The Cyber Corridor encompasses centers of technology and learning running the length of all the super regions, from Baguio to Clark to Metro Manila to Cebu to Davao and neighboring areas. The Philippines ranks among top off-shoring hubs in the world because of cost competitiveness and more importantly our highly trainable, English proficient, IT-enabled management and manpower. IT ability won for Warren Ambat of Baguio City High the most innovative teacher and leadership award in Cambodia last February, topping contestants from 70 countries, congratulations to our contestants, women. Information technology will help the BIR bring in more taxes in the coming months. Its Revenue Watch Dashboard will monitor revenue collections in real time from the national level down to the examiners. The LGU Revenue Assurance shares information between the BIR and the LGUs to uncover fraud and non-payment, before heads would roll per Danny Suarez’s Attrition Law. While our strength in contact centers is well-established, we are now focused on growing the higher value-added services, including accounting, legal, human resources and administrative services. And, so that no Taiwan tremor can cut off our cyber services from their global clients, PLDT and Globe are investing P47 billion in new international broadband links through other regional hubs for redundancy in our cyber space.

The business services sector has become the fastest growing in the economy providing 400,000 jobs compared to 8,000 in 2000. By 2010 the forecast is one million jobs earning $12 billion, the same amount remitted by our overseas Filipinos today. On Safety Net and Education Last year I said that in today’s global economy, knowledge is the greatest creator of wealth. Mahusay na edukasyon ang pinakamabuting pamana natin sa ating mga anak. Yun din ang tanging pamana na ayon sa batas kailangang ibigay sa bawat mamamayan. This year, we are investing more for education: P150 billion, P29 billion more than last year. And, last year government and private sector built 15,000 classrooms instead of the usual 6,000. Noon, isang libro bawat limang mag-aaral. Ngayon, tig-isang aklat na bawat grade schooler. One third of our public high schools now have Internet access, with private sector support. We have a scarcity of public high schools but a surplus of private high schools. So instead of building more high schools, we give more high school scholarships - 600,000 scholars this year. For college, we launched a P4 billion fund for college loans, to increase beneficiaries from 40,000 to 200,000. And for teachers, we have created more than 50,000 teaching positions. But we have to improve their training. Benefits, too. Salamat, dating Senador Tessie Oreta at dating Congressman Dodong Gullas, na di na kailangan ng mga guro maghabol sa Maynila ng sweldo at pension. Pinoproseso na sa rehiyon sa regionalization ng payroll. Teachers and all other national government employees get a raise effective end of this month. Sa TESDA, bukod sa mga sariling kurso nagbibigay ito ng mga scholarship sa vocational schools: P600 million noong isang taon, P1 billion ngayon. May P1 bilyon pa ang DOLE. We are investing P3 billion in science and engineering research and development technology, including scholarships for masters and doctoral degrees programs in engineering in seven universities. Upgrade know-how and learning, and Filipino talent is unbeatable. Proof is biochemist Baldomero Olivera of the University of Utah who was named Scientist of the Year by the Harvard Foundation. In the International Math and Science Olympiad 2006 in Jakarta, Robert Buendia of Cavite Central School and Wilson Alba of San Beda Alabang won the gold. Congratulations, guys. Six Filipinos bagged the awards at the Intel Young Scientists Competition in New Mexico last May: Ivy Ventura, Mara Villaverde, Hester Mana Umayam and Janine Santiago of Philippine Science High; Melvin Barroa of Capiz National High, congratulations, Melvin; and

Luigi John Suarez of Benedicto National High. Congratulations naman. Last week Filipino students topbilled by Amiel Sy of the Philippine Science High dominated the Mathematics World Contest in Hong Kong. Congratulations, Amiel. Congratulations Philippine Science High School. Earlier this month Diona Aquino of the Presidential Management Staff won with her team from UP the Youth Innovation Competition on Global Governance in Shanghai. Ito ay malaking kunsuwelo sa atin. We have spent more on human capital formation than ever in the past. Why? Because if government of the people and by the people is not for them as well, it is a mockery of democracy. May malaking pag-angat ang kalagayan ng maralita, gaya ng trabaho, pag-aaral at pagamot. Look at the chart on new poor fare. Sa unang pagkakataon, gumastos ang Philhealth ng higit P3 bilyon sa paospital ng maralita. Noong 2001 sinabi kong hahatiin natin ang presyo ng gamot na madalas bilhin ng madla. Ngayon sampung libong Botika ng Barangay ang nagtitinda ng murang gamot. Ang paracetamol na tatlong piso sa labas ay piso lamang sa Botika ng Barangay. Ang antibiotic na binibenta ng mga pangunahing parmasya sa P20 ay P2 lamang. Kaya sa isang survey, halos kalahati ang nagsabing abot-kaya ang gamot, kumpara sa 11% noong 1999. So we can spread this even more, I ask Congress to pass the Cheaper Medicines Bill that was almost enacted in June. Almost is not good enough. Let’s help Mar Roxas, Ferge Biron and Teddy Boy Locsin give our people meaningful, affordable choices, from abroad and here in the Philippines. I also ask Congress to pass legislation that brings improved long term care for our senior citizens. Asahan natin si Ed Angara. Si Noli de Castro na isa pang kampeon ng senior citizens ay namumuno ng ating programa sa pabahay. Congratulations, Noli. The low interest rates for housing are unprecedented. Naglaan ang PagIBIG ng P25 billion na pautang, six times the amount when we started it in 2001. P50 billion pa ang ilalaan hanggang 2010. On Terrorism and Human Rights We fight terrorism. It threatens our sovereign, democratic, compassionate and decent way of life. Therefore, in the fight against lawless violence, we must uphold these values. It is never right and always wrong to fight terror with terror. I ask Congress…I urge you to enact laws to transform state response to political violence: First, laws to protect witnesses from lawbreakers and law enforcers. Second, laws to guarantee swift justice from more empowered special courts. Third, laws to impose harsher penalties for political killings. Fourth, laws reserving the harshest penalties for the rogue elements in the uniformed services who betray public trust and bring shame to the greater number of their colleagues who are

patriotic. We must wipe this stain from our democratic record. Ngunit pangunahin pakikibaka pa rin para sa karapatan ang pagpapalaya ng masa sa gutom at kahirapan. Together with economic prosperity is the need to strengthen our institutions of government. Let’s start with election reform. We have long provided funds for computerization. We look forward to the modernization of voting, counting and canvassing. We can disagree on political goals but never on the conduct of democratic elections. I ask Congress to fund poll watchdogs. And to enact a stronger law against election-related violence. We must weed out corruption and build a strong system of justice that the people can trust. We have provided unprecedented billions for antigraft efforts. Thus the Ombudsman’s conviction rate hit 77% this year, from 6% in 2002. We implemented lifestyle checks, dormant for half a century. Taun-taon dose-dosenang opisyal ang nasususpinde, napapatalsik o kinakasuhan dahil labis-labis sa suweldo ang gastos at ari-arian nila. Firms who were asked for bribes in taxes, permits and licenses dropped from one-third to one-half. Contract bribes are also down. Graft won’t be eliminated overnight but we are making progress. In Conclusion: What I have outlined today is just a sampler of our P1.7 trillion Medium Term Public Investment Program. How will we fund all these? P1 trillion from state revenues, with tax reforms and firm orders to BIR and Customs to hit their targets. P300 billion from state corporations. The balance from government financial institutions, private sector investments, local government equity and our bilateral and multilateral partners. Our new confidence and momentum for progress have imbued our foreign relations, with the ASEAN Summit last year and the coming ASEAN Regional Forum, with increased assistance from our allies and with continued support for our peace and security efforts in Mindanao. We were able to strengthen our economy because of the fiscal reforms that we adopted at such great cost to me in public disapproval. But I would rather be right than popular. Our fundamentals are paying off in huge leaps in investment. Anim na milyong trabaho ang nalikha sa anim na taon, most in sustainable enterprises. Sa lakas ng piso, bumagal ang pagtaas ng bilihin. It is my ardent wish that most of the vision I have outlined will be fully achieved when I step down. It is my unshakeable resolve that the fundamentals of this vision will by then be permanently rooted, its progress well advanced and its direction firmly fixed with our reforms already bearing fruit. All that will remain for my successor is to gather the harvest. He or she will have an easier time of it than I did. They say the campaign for the next election started on May 15, the

day after the last. Fine. I stand in the way of no one’s ambition. I only ask that no one stand in the way of the people’s well being and the nation’s progress. The time for facing off is over. The time is here for facing forward to a better future our people so desperately want and richly deserve. Uulitin ko: Hindi ako sagabal sa ambisyon ninuman. But make no mistake. I will not stand idly when anyone gets in the way of the national interest and tries to block the national vision. From where I sit, I can tell you, a President is always as strong as she wants to be. Pagpalain tayo ng Diyos at ang dakilang gawaing hinaharap natin. The state of the nation is strong. Inyong lingkod, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Pangulo ng Republika ng Pilipinas.

Inquirer on SONA The 2007 Sona By Isagani Cruz Inquirer Last updated 02:02am (Mla time) 07/29/2007 MANILA, Philippines—I must be the only columnist who has not written anything about the State of the Nation Address of President Macapagal-Arroyo last Monday. My reason was simple: I did not watch her on TV or listen to the radio to hear her deliver that hourlong drivel. And my reason was simple too: that hogwash did not deserve the interest of this humble citizen of our bumbling Republic. It is true that freedom of expression includes the right to be heard in the sense that the State cannot prohibit the people from hearing what a person has to say, whatever the quality of his thoughts. But this right is not demandable against those unwilling to listen who may not be herded by the government into a captive audience. This means that the right to listen includes the right not to listen. As Socrates said, this freedom was meant not only to protect the minority who want to talk but also to benefit the majority who refuse to listen. And I refused to listen to what I could reasonably expect to be another delusion offered by an expert deceiver as proved by the previous utterances she has made with histrionic sincerity. She is the leader who pledged on several occasions, including the one before the Rizal monument at the Luneta, that she would not run for president in 2004 but did. She has also called for the nation to move on instead of discovering the truth about the Garci tapes and her suspicious involvement in that scandal. The newspapers, as reporters of events of public concern, dutifully described the happenings on July 23, the fourth Monday of the month for the opening of the regular

session of Congress. It was on that day that President Arroyo was to deliver her Sona. The audience came as in an expensive fashion show, with the male solons in costly barongs and the ladies in frippery costumes that must have cost thousands of pesos per vanity. Outside, the masses were rallying against the administration. Many of them were from the abject poor living on a hand-to-mouth existence removed from the splendors of the rich. And they were all waiting, the destitute in hopes and the over-abundant in wealth, for the performance of the hour by the Nora Aunor of Malacañang. As a responsible broadsheet, the Inquirer carried reports and pictures of that gala event. Its headlines for two successive days were “GMA: Don’t count me out” and “Villar: GMA a lame duck.” And there were enough pictures in the inside pages featuring the celebrities in their costly attire who had come to be seen and not necessarily to listen to the Sona. The columnists, true to the mission of their calling, seriously analyzed the speech of the President and, as might be expected, most of them had a somber view of the state of the nation as Ms Gloria effusively described it under her leadership. As also expected, a few were laudatory. In any case, it was clear that they had patiently sat through the tiresome address so they could later write about it—or against it—as responsible opinion-makers. I did not make a similar decision. Instead I continued reading Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “Living to Tell the Tale,” that was more interesting and I considered to be more honest. I learned later that Jose de Venecia had been elected speaker again for a fifth time with his arch rival Rep. Pablo Garcia not joining in the contest. In the Senate, Villar was elected president, but the chairmanship of the blue ribbon committee had yet to be resolved. The Inquirer columnists have a wide choice of topics to write about without dictation or censorship from our editors. We may even write against their views, incurring their displeasure but not their resentment. In fact, they can also write against us in their editorials which we may answer in our columns, as I have done. What is sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander. And so I have not written about the Sona as my colleagues have done with expert analytical critique, mostly adverse, except for some unwelcome hallelujahs. My realistic view was that the President’s Sona did not merit the many words and hours wasted to examine and declare it for what it was as another humbug from the President of the Philippines. It was as pretentious as her official title. For whatever it may be worth, let me offer the suggestion that there are certain topics that may be of public curiosity but nevertheless should not be given increased notoriety in the media. I have in mind the unhealthy hoopla that the American media, particularly television and the newspapers, recently gave to the death of a vulgar stripper, whose neighbors in her hometown said they did not want their place to be remembered for her.

In our country, I am bothered by the attention given some public if hardly admired figures like Imelda Marcos and Jose Ma. Sison who in my humble view are better forgotten instead of being given undue publicity in lieu of the dismissive unconcern they deserve. I make the same observation about President Gloria M. Arroyo’s undistinguished and best ignored Sona.

Source: http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=79276

Summary of SONA 2007 As an overall sense and feel for the 2007 State of the Nation Address (SONA) by President Gloria Arroyo, I can say, without any doubt, this was one of the least remarkable, and at times even boring State of the Nation addresses that Gloria has had. If not for the hundreds of pauses for the clap happy crowd, then I would probably have fallen asleep within minutes. But, despite this, I thought I’d list some key points that I thought had my attention and which I think were important. 1. At the beginning of her speech she states that she hopes to have The Philippines included as one of the richest nation within 20 years, but nearing the end she states, “All that will remain for my successor is to gather the harvest. He or she will have an easier time of it than I did.” Is she telling us that with the 20 year goal of progressing our nation towards being one the richest nations, the last 17 years of this goal will be much easier? Within three years, the hardest part of this process will have already been completed? 2. She mentioned Mindanao, “investments in bringing peace to Mindanao; in crushing terrorism wherever it threatens regardless of ideology; and in putting a stop to human rights abuses whatever the excuse.” I hope she is also talking about the excuses that are being made from her own camp including her top military officials. Because if this focus on excuses is a one way street, then sorry, I’m not buying it.

3. She mentions the Fearless Fourteen, yet, I had wished she would have mentioned them by name. I vaguely remember Gloria making such a grandeous announcement of Manny Pacquiao before, could she not have done the same for the fourteen brave men who died because of the inadequate military top brass and equipment, as well as the barbarism of the MILF.. In this same SONA, she does, however, mention the six Filipinos who “bagged the awards at the Intel Young Scientists Competition”. Thank you Mrs. President, but I think our gratitude to the fallen goes first, just because it puts your SONA in a bad light with the inadequate command of your military being focused on, I would have liked a little bit more oomph and emphasis put on them. Awards are good, but life is sacred. 4. She stated the following as well, “Last year I unveiled the Super Regions Mindanao, Central Philippines, North Luzon Agribusiness Quadrangle, Luzon Urban Beltway and the Cyber Corridor - to spread development away from an inequitable concentration in Metro Manila. Hindi lamang Maynila ang Pilipinas.” For a moment, the gallery was a bit slow to clap at the end of this one. After all, many Congressmen call Manila their home, and only come back to their respective regions when elections take place. 5. She also says, “I am happy to see that the latest survey in June shows the hunger rate has sharply gone down nationwide.” But what she fails to mention is that the previous hunger rate was 19%, which was at the all time high, and which certainly had nowhere else to go but down. And is currently at 14.7%. If it had gone up, then I would have called for her resignation right there and then. To further her cherry picking of survey facts, the following was also omitted: 14.7% is a substantial improvement, but is still three points above the 11.6% average percentage of hunger in 37 quarterly SWS surveys from mid-1998 to the present. Hunger reached a new record-high of 22.0% in Metro Manila in particular So, if hunger statistics were to really have dramatically improved, it would be under 10%. 14.7% is too much! It shows, that even though her touting of her macroenomic factors may be mildly justified, it is the microenomic factors that will have the impact that individual Filipinos will feel. 14.7% is not an improvement, it’s only an improvement from an even more shocking number of 19% who experience involuntary hunger. 6. She also mentions the “Cheaper Medicines Bill that was almost enacted in June. Almost is not good enough.” But what she doesn’t say is that many other bills were shoved down our throat in place of more worthy bills such as the Cheaper Medicines Bill. The vague Anti-terror law was steamrolled through, but medicine for the poor was not. In the end, as is the case in The

U.S.A, health care or lack of it will have killed millions more lives than any terrorist attacks could ever have done. It’s not that we want to take terrorism lightly, but couldn’t the 13th Congress have done both and still have passed a better Anti-terror law as well as passing the Cheaper Medicines Bill?? 7. Of all the statements in her SONA, I liked the following the best, “I ask Congress…I urge you to enact laws to transform state response to political violence: First, laws to protect witnesses from lawbreakers and law enforcers. Second, laws to guarantee swift justice from more empowered special courts. Third, laws to impose harsher penalties for political killings. Fourth, laws reserving the harshest penalties for the rogue elements in the uniformed services who betray public trust and bring shame to the greater number of their colleagues who are patriotic.” But do we believe mere words, when the actions are so different? As I have said, and I will say here once again, we cannot judge these politicians on what they say, for too often they have lied in front of our face. We must, and should, judge them on their actions. Talk is good with regards to fighting terrorism, but it is the actions that will have me believing. Until actual prosecutions of cases takes place, and these rogue elements, and even high ranking officials jailed, I cannot and will not believe such words that come out of this President’s mouth. 8. She said the following as well, “We can disagree on political goals but never on the conduct of democratic elections. I ask Congress to fund poll watchdogs. And to enact a stronger law against election-related violence.” Ah, a mere 31 words and 1 paragraph with regards to poll cheating and violence. Nothing, and I was waiting for this, about the Martyrs of Taysan, and the death of our hero Musa Dimasidsing. We already have laws against election related violence, but what about something pointing to a revamp and overhaul of COMELEC? What good are the laws when the institution that implements them are the ones to oversee such election anomalies? Maybe we should enact “The Obvious Cheating Law”, such as when election operators, officers, and even documents become missing , we should hold these officers responsible and not steamroll ahead with proclamations (ahem Bedol, ahem Zubiri, ahem Abalos). What good is having more funds for watchdogs when they aren’t even allowed to observe the canvassing (Lintang Bedol denied watchdogs the right to observe the Provincial Canvass in Maguindanao) 9. The last part of her speech was full of hidden clues, agendas, and wink wink type of sentences. She said, “They say the campaign for the next election started on May 15, the day after the last. Fine. I stand in the way of no one’s ambition. I only ask that no one stand in the way of the people’s well being and the nation’s progress. The time for facing off is over. The time is here for facing forward to a better future our people so desperately want and richly deserve. Uulitin ko: Hindi ako sagabal sa ambisyon ninuman. But make no mistake. I will not stand idly when anyone gets in

the way of the national interest and tries to block the national vision. From where I sit, I can tell you, a President is always as strong as she wants to be.” Clearly she acknowledges the many ambitious Senators that are already jockeying for position with their eye on the 2010 Presidential Elections. That last sentence is ominous however. As you will remember she said in her SONA back then that she would not run for President, but backtracked and made the decision that the country was clamoring and needed her to pursue further with her agenda for the nation’s sake. And Clearly Charter Change, and even her run for Prime Minister is in the works (for the sake of the nation’s progress of course) 10. And of course, I couldn’t resist thinking about her closing remarks, “The state of the nation is strong.” I wonder what kind of strength this is? Is her nation strong on human rights violations? Strong on election fraud, cheating, and other irregularities? Is her nation strong on providing health care? I’m sure she meant the nation is strong collectively, but let’s be serious here, is it strong because of her? Or is it strong because of those who fight for human rights, who were vigilant in the past election, and is it strong because of the strength of our OFWs? I know our nation is strong, that goes almost without saying. But the state of our human rights, health care, and even education, may just be deteriorating. SONA’s are supposed to be upbeat, but in these times, maybe she should be more upfront. (Update: someone emailed me with regards to not having mentioned her almost never ending “Super Regions”. Although I applaud her in her efforts to have come up with such a grand and well thought out scheme as to where and what our focus should be within these regions, I have to mention that she only gave a passing statement about graft and corruption. That to me is indicative of one of the major problems with providing P1.7 Trillion for these projects, because although P1.7 will be alloted for these projects, how much will really go to these projects? And how much are attributed to kickbacks, overpricing, and plain stealing? As Manuel mentions, it does sound to me like more pork and a way to keep her constituent happy and overflowing with money)

Source: http://www.tingog.com/government/10-key-highlights-fromthe-2007-sona.html