What wasn’t said

From a view, the State of the Nation Address of President Aquino was comprehensive, and as usual with SONA’s, it was filled with statistics and the best of everything. Of course this is expected because a SONA is a report to the nation, although in its beginnings in the United States it was a process of consultation by the President to the members of Congress on the plans and direction of the government. Now it is an annual report like the report card of students that parents want to see on how their kids fared in school.

It is understandable that the President reported what is wonderful and good and skipped those that pose a danger to his regime or would make people conclude his governance of the previous year was a failure.

As expected his partymates and co-workers in government, particularly those he appointed, and sycophants were exuberant and praised his report. After all they are part of it, and the President underscored that fact – we are all in this.

About 5,000 rallyists and millions others who had not shared the bonanza he claimed are happy. His report showed a whopping success for his own people and not the great mass of people and he did not address their true concerns.

Surveys show this sad state of affairs, this sense of joblessness and poverty. In fact, many challenged his claims, like crimes having gone down significantly and kids having classrooms and books and school supplies.

We who live outside Manila know this for a fact. Parents of public school students flock for cheap notebooks and pencils, sharing their little earnings to insure their kids have these basic school materials but the President claims they already have these. He should have taken a look at Divisoria just before school opens and see the hordes of parents trying to buy these supplies.

So the question: Where are these supplies? Why are kids sitting on the floor of a bare classroom? Why are many classes held in warehouses and garages or on the steps of buildings?

Recently, Governor Alfredo Marañon expressed apprehension that the 24-classroom building that the province is constructing at the Negros Occidental High School will not be completed this year because of government bureaucracy of checking the loans of the local government. Since the provincial loan is with Land Bank, does the government think there are shenanigans here?

As it is, students in NOHS are using the steps of the Paglaum Sports Complex while waiting for this new building. The students and the teachers suffer and yet the President speaks of things that are but dreams for these kids and their teachers.

There is hope, though, that the President will be able to fulfill his pledge that this situation will be a thing of the past. We can only hope, because many promises had been made, but except for the photo-ops nothing happened to ease the burden.

So many things had been said in 1.5 hours of the SONA. The speech was direct and forceful but what people had waited to be addressed was never mentioned.

The most common plaint is the continued rise in the price of oil, and yet the President chose to ignore the problem that bears heavily on the shoulders of the poor. The fuel consumption of government big shots are paid for by taxes, so high oil prices do not affect them, but they do inflict pain on the people who take public transport and those not favored enough with fuel subsidies.

The President also did not say anything about arresting the rising cost of electricity and water. Electrical energy in the Philippines is said to be the highest in the region and one of the major stumbling blocks for investors as well as our own domestic development. While he cited the economic gains and new investors he did not say anything about foreign companies that have relocated because of the high cost of doing business in the Philippines.

Because the President did not mention this problem we are left without any hope that the cost of electricity and water will find relief in the near future. This also means that the President has no plan for alleviating our plight in this regard.

The President praised the Ombudsman for her effort in curbing corruption, and yet we know that hundreds of cases lie there waiting for action. The fertilizer and computer scams that involve former Cong, Monico Puentevella have not been heard from again.  The same thing happened with the plunder case in Sandigan.

Puentevella plans to be mayor of Bacolod so the Ombudsman and President Aquino should decide on whether he is culpable or not, so that the voters of Bacolod can be guided when they cast their votes next year.*

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