Tuesday, July 23, 2013



PNOY took one hour and forty three minutes delivering his fourth State of the Nation Address. It was a long, self-congratulatory address of enumeration of his administration's triumphs. PNOY failed to include the basic concerns of the majority of Filipinos: the need to generate jobs, raise the wages and salaries of workers and employees, lower the prices of electricity, water, fuel, and affordable needs and housings. Some says that " Economic growth should be felt, but the Aquino administration is not doing something new, they're just covering it up.", which I believe is true. The Filipinos can't feel the Economic Growth he is boasting. Prices of the basic needs is still high, many families still don't have their own houses, unemployment is still high as a mountains, crimes are still unpreventable. What now?

Aquino praised the expansion of the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, that from 700,00 households in 2010 to nearly 4 million households under his administration. PNOY even announced that the coverage of the program, and its budget would be increased this year to include children up to 18 years of age. But, what will happen if there will still be no available job for you? You would still be poor my friend. PNOY also declared that the government has been providing so-called "opportunities" for those who wants jobs and what is left for the people to do is to "maximize" these opportunities. But according to the data from the government, unemployed workers grew form 9.5 million in 2010 to 11.6 million this year.

Aquino boasted in his SONA that the agriculture grew thrice from 1.1 to 3.3 percent in 2010, but the farmer's groups said he failed to raise the issue of peasant poverty as a result of landlessness and joblessness. Aquino especially mentioned that the manufacturing sector's 28.5 percent growth. But, under Aquino, the workers seem to have not received any wage hike. Worse, Aquino has sought to cut their already low-minimum wages through two-tiered wage system.

Aquino's attempt in putting the blame for the country's problems and corruption on the previous government like the Marcos administration is becoming unconvincing and painful to growing number of Filipinos. I, even as a student only, can't accept Aquino's words of hypocrisy in blaming the past government for the country's problems. PNOY is congratulating himself for his job well done. Summarizing all those where it came from, 2010 up to now, seems like not okay for me. Not okay.

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