Thoughts for the Next State of the Nation Address (SONA)
Known as a law-of-the-state mandate done every year, the State of the Nation Address (SONA) is delivered by the Philippine president to a bicameral legislature of the Philippine Congress. It is a legislative practice that allows the presidency to inform the general population concerning the present status of the country and make suggestions to the parliament regarding his/her program, objectives, or projected budgetary annual initiatives.
A little history about the start of the State of the Nation Address ceremony. According to the 1899 Constitution, the President of the Philippines is responsible for opening, suspending, and closing Congress. The Philippine-American War broke out the same year. President William McKinley of the United States authorized the very first Philippine Commission to study and investigate the Philippines' situation.
When I was in Grade School, we always have that homework where we have to list down the different plans of the current president. And since school ends around 4 or 5 in the afternoon and it happens during school days, I always get the end of the stick when I open up the television. I'm just glad that after that is the news so they kind of wrap it all up for us. I wasn't really sure what I wrote down back then because I don't think anything happened with the projects that are supposed to be done, based on what I saw, during late President Aquino's administration. Well, he was the one who established the K-12 System, which, when looking back now, there are no changes in the education system because employers, for the positions that have a higher salary, look for students who have a bachelor's degree. And since students have different dream jobs, they are forced to still enter college.
What I don't understand is that during former President Duterte's administration, we never had to deal with that again. Well, I know that there is animosity between some schools and the previous administration, but it shouldn't be put on the students and their knowledge. The only difference, in my opinion, compared to the administration before former President Duterte is that he did all of his plans for the country within his six years in the highest government power. I just don't understand that some people kept complaining about how expensive things are nowadays to how it was during late President Aquino's time. I am not rich so I am also affected by the sudden changes in prices, however, we cannot focus on how good an administration is just because of the prices. It doesn't start and end there. I am in support of whoever is in position but we always have to look at the journey rather than the end.
Another thing is that these "human rights" activists focused on those supposed "victims" of the "Extrajudicial Killing" by former President Duterte's administration. I am also dismayed at how brutal some things went but if you are really a human-right activist, you shouldn't focus on one event just because you are not a big fan of the administration. There are also people who were killed by other administrations and were not put seriously because people didn't care. The point is that we care for the "victims" that are alleged in connection with illegal drugs, but not the victims of the people who used the drugs and did unimaginable things. If you are for human rights, you must also protest for these people.
This kind of behavior is being reflected now in the current administration. The media says that there are a lot of people who are not in favor of President Marcos, however, it's only the media that says it.
I am expecting a lot for tomorrow. I am not really that big of a fan of President Bongbong Marcos, even though I voted for him. I voted for him because in terms of the research I made with all of the candidates, he was fit, not perfect, for the position. Because if I were to vote for a favorite, I would have voted for a different candidate. And we don't vote just because we are against the other party/ies. We vote for the people we know are going to be better leaders. All of the candidates are good leaders, but not all of them are entitled to the position. I did have mixed feelings about what President Marcos can do for the country, but just like the previous administration, I hope the negative thoughts in people's minds will bring a positive outcome.
I watched the news earlier about a group that will protest somewhere outside the hall where the first SONA of President Marcos will happen. They made like a giant sculpture of the current president who is designed to look like a "clown", or any form of comedy because he has a party hat. I find it funny that they made a lot of effort to produce that thing but anyways, they have their opinions so it's a big risk for them. The police already said that it's not allowed, however, the Mayor of Quezon City gave these people the permit to protest which I don't understand why. The police also said that they cannot burn anything because it's illegal and there is an ordinance prohibiting it. However, the protesters said that anything can happen by tomorrow so the police, on the other hand, will also plan to at least not make any "mess" for the SONA to progress properly.
Overall, the Philippines just hope for a greater future and better performance of the plans.
