I am partly impressed and disappointed after reading the full transcript of PNoy`s SONA 2015. Disappointed, because, I was expecting that it was something different from his previous SONAs. To my dismay, it was on its usual 2P`s (Panunumbat and Pagyayabang) format with a touch of sarcasm. And he tried to justify that by quoting George Santayana; “Those who forget the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat it.”
I think it is not necessary to mention the failures of the past administration of GMA to show and prove how far his administration has attained. He already spent five years on running this country, why not compare the nation`s current state to his first three years of administration. His speech may sound better that way.
Despite that, the achievements of his “daang matuwid” impressed me. Appointing tough leaders into position, (General Ricardo Marquez for example) who really worth it, the all-time-high P1.3 billion tax collection of BIR, the rising trust from foreign investors and boosting the manufacturing industry, newly acquired military assets etc. For me one of his salient achievement (for it is one of my concern) is the implementation of K-12 curriculum that will surely keep our educational system at par with the global education standard. It amplified the number of enrollees and the needs for teachers, textbooks, classroom and other facilities. He said that 33,608 classrooms have already been constructed and are planning to construct 41,000 more. I fear that would never be complete before his term come to its end.
However, it looks like he forgot to mention some important things like salary increase for government employees, his action for the controversial six-month contractual employment scheme, the agriculture industry, Freedom of Information bill, the amendment on Cybercrime Law, and last but not the least, the progress of justice for the victims of Mamasapano massacre.
No one is perfect, “tao lang `ika nga”. Still, our president deserves more than 146 round of applause for the achievements of his administration.
