Ok first off, I would like to make a general comment on the President’s SONA speech per se. Aside from the fact that it was spewing with crap, it was also very poorly written. It lacked all the elements of a decent speech. It was incoherent, unsubstantial, shallow, and, disorganized. I know that her speech wasn’t meant to be a literary piece and I’m no literary critic or anything. Heck, I’m not even a professional writer. But that was like the worst State of the Nation Address I have ever heard/read in my entire life. You call that four months worth of work? Anyway, style-wise it was horrid.
In terms of substance, like I said, the speech was just oozing with so much BS. I don’t want to go through it again lest I suffer from another headache. I’ve already said my piece earlier and I don’t want to go through the details of the entire speech anymore because that would require that I read it all over again. And my brains may just give up on me….my blood pressure too.
Though in addition to my earlier post, I won’t be able to sleep without mentioning these additional SONAbles:
Remember during the first part, she kept blaming external factors for all the mess that our country is experiencing? She kept rambling on and on about how her “tough choices” spared us from the impact of global problems such as rising oil and food prices. She kept playing Pontius Pilate, you know, washing her hands, to the point of saying that she had nothing to do with these problems and that she chose to make these “tough choices” even if it meant putting her popularity on the line. But then, isn’t she already unpopular to begin with? As if she even had any popularity to spare.
Then she talks about her “responsibility” as the President. How can she even muster the nerve to talk about responsibility? I almost puked. Then there was this part when she says that she spends everyday single day with the underprivileged. I swear to God, if she had Pinocchio’s nose, it would probably fall off and run looking for Pinocchio. Her ability to lie is just way way beyond any polygraph test.
Then she starts the whole “nag-aalala ako” litany. Who in their right mind would even believe that crap? First of all, she doesn’t look the part. Second, she doesn’t sound the part. And third, her insincerity was like seeping through her veins.
And oh my God, I almost died when she said that her critics may call whatever she was saying fiction, but she calls it HEROISM and that she doesn’t need their praises. Oh my God. Heroism? Rizal and Ninoy were probably turning in their graves. She frickin called herself a HERO!
Then she goes on about the Value Added Tax and how it has worked wonders for our economy by allowing her to raise the funds needed to help the poor. But then, if she hadn’t confiscated the gains to begin with, then we would have had enough funds in our coffers. And VAT is not the answer. New taxes are not the answer. Just order the BIR and the BOC to collect taxes properly. But then, what would Lucio Tan say right? Afterall, she and the whole tobacco bloc in Congress are beholden to Lucio. So what Lucio says, Gloria does. Then she even makes this statement, sort of like a threat that if they take away VAT, it was tantamount to suicide because we would have nothing to battle the forces of evil brought about by the global crisis. Again, she blames the world for our problems. And VAT is her only safeguard? How lame!
Another thing she said that made me cringe was that she even had the gall to talk about leadership. She of all people.
Oh and remember that part when she said “We have our disagreements, but we are one nation with one faith. As your President, I care too much for this nation to let anyone stand in the way of the people’s well-being. I will let no one threaten our nation’s survival.” She cares too much? All she cares about is staying in power. And let us all be wary of that particular statement she made. As The EQualizer aptly said “expect shortly this political game scenario on how Gloria Arroyo will extend her term beyond 2010 in spite of constitutional restrictions”. This is something we should all worry about. She’s quite the sneaky devil so anything is possible at this point.
I think I’ll stop already. God, why is this so draining?
For me, her SONA was like a confession. She basically confessed all the sins she KNEW she had committed against us and all the pains that she KNOWS she continues to inflict upon us. And by way of confession, she totally dumped everything on us and washed her hands. However, unlike in real confessions where aside from confessing our sins, we ask for forgiveness and resolve never to do them again, her’s was the opposite. She just dumped it all on us and left us there. It was like basically telling us that she may have sinned against us, but then since she is also the devil incarnate, it doesn’t really matter because sinning is all she does and what she does best.
Oh, and before I forget, whoever fed this to the President must be in serious shit loads of trouble right now. This has even become da highlight of the SONA over at Dominique’s site. He even made a poster out of it haha…
“Texting is a way of life. I asked the telecoms to cut the cost of messages between networks. They responded. It is now down to 50 centavos.”
If you were the President, how do you now explain that to the underprivileged or the people you claim to spend every single day with? And they actually thought you did them a huge favor by slashing the cost of text messaging by half. Eh sana nakakain nalang ang text no?
Popularity: 1% [?]
VAT retention is the path of least resistance. By instinct, governments trod on this as humans do. Its difficult to be creative in these times of crises. Likewise impossible is collecting taxes from traditional sources as history has shown with all the smuggling, tax loopholes, temporary restraining orders, and court cases.
If need be, the VAT could be finetuned for exemptions on basic medicines, canned goods, etc. And the subsidies be expanded to include 30-40% of the population.
But then, she had what, 7 years to at least start improving tax collection? By properly collecting excise taxes alone, we could be raking in P54 billion annually. But then, I know, I’m being all idealistic here. Asa pa tayo hehehe :)
What really frustrates me is to hear her brag about the VAT (and the E-VAT) because we all know it’s just one of her many band-aid solutions. It may appear to serve its purpose in the short run but in the long run, it will definitely bring in more problems (like what’s happening now). More taxes would definitely put a strain on our purchasing power. And a strained purchasing power leads to a decrease in consumer spending. And when consumers do not want to spend, government wont have any taxes to collect. So babalik din sa talaga sa traditional sources. Sabi nga ni Keynes, in the long run, we’re all dead…hehe
Nakakainis lang because she makes it appear as if VAT is our only hope to counter the effects of the “global crises”. Ang sabihin nya, it is the most convenient course of action for the government because in effect, companies are the ones collecting the taxes for them via a simplified pass-on to the consumers. Where is their accountability?
And I don’t think it’s really helping the poor because they buy the same stuff that we do. So in effect, it’s like taking their money and then giving it back to them in the form of subsidies. It’s like taking a person’s shirt, washing it, and then giving it back them as a gift. So parang niloloko lang sila kasi it was their’s to begin with.
But then I agree that if it’s really here to stay, then they should study how it can be, as you said, finetuned. But then that would require legislation, I guess. And that could drag on as well just like the TROs, the court cases, etc. :(
jen, to use an old, tired cliche “it’s all in the eyes of the beholder”. you criticize practically every word she uttered. o.k., fine, you don’t like it and you don’t like her, but i disagree that her speech was full of BS. it had no more of it than this article of yours, from my perspective.
you are questioning her facts and numbers. have you examined the public record and look beyond what critics like you are saying, or what you read and hear from her enemies in the media? you are questioning her private feelings (nag-alaala ako). since when have you had the power to see and feel what’s in a person’s heart? you are questioning her visions of what the country needs. are you in a position to know that better than her, notwithstanding her almost unlimited access to everything there is to know about the country?
and what is so bad, or so amusing, about reporting that the cost of texting (an activity that has become standard with filipinos, rich and poor alike)has gone down? are you desperate for things to put her down?
you ask why criticizing her “is so draining”. you see, hatred is enervating. it feeds on your soul and you are not at all strengthened by it.
btw, as to your worrying about gma staying in power after 2010, you remind me of my cousin’s mother who actually got sick worrying about things she would imagine was going to happen – making a problem of disasters she conjured up in her mind. oh well… of course they never happened.
Hi Bencard,
Thanks for your comment.
Yes I have examined the facts and figures. I have looked at the most important figures to the common Filipino which are prices, jobs, and income. First, prices. Inflation was at a record high of 11.4% compared to the 2.3% or so registerd in the same period last year. And the BSP expects inflation to worsen in the coming months.
Second, jobs. According to Bureau of Labor and Emloyment Statistics (BLES), the manufacturing sector lost about 180,000 jobs while construction lost about 9,000 jobs in the past year. That’s a lot considering that these are supposedly the two most job-filled sectors in the economy. Further, according to the BLES, an estimated 168,000 jobs were lost between April 2007 and April 2008, with the industry sector actually losing 244,000. Which is pretty screwed up considering that while people lost their jobs, the number of working-age Filipinos grew by another million.
Thus if you look at our misery index (unemployment rate+inflation rate) it’s something like 19.4% or 4.4% from the same period last year.
In terms of income, the value of domestic production went down from last year’s 7% to 5.2%.
Being the worst hit is the industry sector, more specifically the manufacturing and construction sectors – which explains the loss of all those jobs.
And you also asked:
“and what is so bad, or so amusing, about reporting that the cost of texting (an activity that has become standard with filipinos, rich and poor alike) has gone down? are you desperate for things to put her down?”
Well, uh, she claimed it as an ACCOMPLISHMENT in her SONA when in fact it was just a promo of the telcos. So, who’s the desperate one?
btw Bencard, about my piece being all bs, I guess it’s ok because I’m not the President :D
And also, I don’t hate her, hate her, I’m just a frustrated tax payer I guess. And I’m tired of all the drama – being with the underpriveleged everyday, nagaalala etc. It may not matter to you because apparently, you don’t live here. You don’t get to experience what we experience everyday.
I live here (not that I would want to live anywhere else). I work here. I pay my taxes to this government. I have gone to far-flung areas where children can’t even get to their schools without having to hike barefoot for hours. And these are the “more fortunate” ones because they get to go to school in the first place.
I have experienced what if feels like to hand out a pair of rubber sandals and a bag full of school supplies to a child. What gets me each time is how their faces would light up at the mere sight of a NEW pair of rubber sandals…bonus nalang yung school supplies.
That’s what frustrates me, sir.
@Bencard, the problem with your analogy is that the possibility of Gloria wanting to stay beyond 2010 is plausible. She has done so in the past.. When she heard the “clamor” for her to run again..
The reason Jen’s piece is a legitimate piece of worry is that because the trust we bestow upon our president has been dismantled by no less than Gloria herself.
Maybe Jen’s not the desperate one to put Gloria down, it could just very well be, that Gloria was desperate to find things to talk about in her SONA.. While you may attack her for her desperation to find negativity, we know all too well that it is you who has the desperation defend your dear and precious Gloria..
And what’s bad about reporting that the cost of texting has gone down is that it shows only a partial truth, a populist tone to drum up support for her weakened and unpopular administration.. It’s a PR stunt, pure and simple.
And oh yes, don’t start with your tirade that no one is in a position to analyze and criticize based on the fact that we’re not President. Are we not citizen’s? the fact is.. a vision for our country, all of us can contribute to that.. Are you denying us of that right? Under your logic, we should just blindly follow, because Gloria is the most informed, and must then be the only one in the position to create a vision for our country..
I don’t need a dictatorship.
thanks for your responses, jen. please don’t think i’m being patronizing when i say, you seem to me to be a very bright, feisty young woman. you remind me of my only daughter – a few years older than you.
i’m in no position to refute your numbers. what i noted though is that you didn’t mention any time frame, so i assume they apply to the 6-month period of 2008. i believe the president has amply explained the down statistics in paragraphs 3 to 7 of her speech (pardon my inability to reproduce them here) in which she mentioned the strong gains towards the end of 2007 until the global crisis in economy kicked in which adversely affected our country, in particular.
as to the texting comment, i thought she was just reporting the good news to the multitude of texters, not really claiming it as “accomplishment” but a welcome positive development, promo or no promo, given that texting is a “way of life” in the philippines.
as to BS, i may not have said it right but what i was trying to get across was that i find no BS in the president’s speech as i don’t find any in your article. i apologize for the confusion. i maintain, though, that a president has no more or less right to give BS than anyone, including you and me, but he/she is entitled to more respect and deference by virtue of his/her office. you may detest her as a person but dissing her is dissing the nation she represents.
i appreciate you first hand experiences with the poor and the lesser of our brethren. i have been one of them and i know how it is to be in their situation. but i have never held anyone, including my government, responsible for my poverty, nor for my escape from it later on. btw, i’m a frequent balikbayan so i’m fairly abreast of what is going on.
nick, sure it’s “plausible”. but hey, are you kidding me? you lost trust in her because she said she was not going to run for re-election and yet she did in 2004? throughout my adult life, i have heard of politician’s swearing to high heavens that they are “not interested” in being a candidate only to be among the first ones to sign in with the comelec. that’s not unheard of even here in the u.s. i think that’s part of politics. what’s this big beef over gma’s change of mind? is it because those who were drooling to become her successor, and the latter’s beneficiaries, were stymied from their ambition and forced to slurp their own saliva? let me just tell you the difference. in 2004, she had the constitutional RIGHT to run. in 2010, she is precluded from running.
i did not say no one has the right to analyze or criticize the president or her perfromance. all i said is that when reporting the state of the nation, i would put my money on the words of the president of the republic ( by virtue of her unlimited access to information) as against that of some critic or pundit who probably doesn’t know any better than me. btw, your “vision” may be really good but, since i have a choice, i would go with the president’s.
as to “desperation” i’m not gonna engage you in a childish tit-for-tat, aka, you-say-i-am, i-say -you-are kind of exchange.
@Bencard, I have to respect your choice.
And no, her runnning in 2004 is but just one of the multitude of reasons I have lost trust in her..
yeah, nick. i understand. but my point is gma has never been accused of personal act of corruption, much less prosecuted or convicted of it. she may have snakes and barracudas in her administration but is she the keeper of their conscience? remember Jesus’ disciples had one judas among them but i’m sure you are not blaming the former for the latter’s perfidy, are you? if that’s the basis of your loss of trust, then maybe gma never had it to begin with and has really no need for it.
hello..
anung meron????
bakit kya andaming galit kay aroyo???
anung gusto nio away o gulo????
ano labas matapang!!!!!
wag nga kayo mag english!!!!
nose bleed ako!!!
Im not a pro gloria or anything but this is what i think of, many of us expect too much to our president that we are busy looking for every mistakes she makes. But could we also think that instead of blaming all of these to her, we should also blame other people? Just ask your self a question with this, how could a president feed a million of people in just an instance? She’s not a superwoman to give all the things that we need.