SONA 2014

Reaction Paper




Submitted by:
Tuazon, Jennah Ricci J.
NR31

Submitted to:
Prof. Luz P. Banes
Economics Professor



President Noynoy Aquino delivered his fifth State Of the Nation Address or
SONA last July 28, 2014 and discussed important matters that he and his
government have accomplished and wants to accomplish for our country. I only
wanted to focus my reaction on his statements about our economy and education in
our country.

In his speech, the government meant well. There was no admission of any
major problems in the system, and nothing about what is eating the country from
the inside and out: corruption. If you were visiting from Mars and randomly
dropped into one of the comfy Batasan chairs to hear the presidents speech, you
would probably feel very optimistic about living in the Philippines the
improvements, the countrys acceleration, and the implied contentment of the
citizens; it almost sounded too good to be true. Why would the president tell things
that would ruin his name and his government right?

President Aquino started his Fifth SONA recounting how the Philippines,
once called as the sick of man of Asia and transformed into one of the most
promising economy in Asia. He shared how the Philippines became one of the
leading countries in Asia for its growth in GDP and GNP. He also noted that the
employment rate of the country had increased and reflects how his administration
handled the labor policies. With the various economic growth, President Aquino
had also broke the news that the next year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Summit or APEC Summit will be held here on our country, another proof that
the country is indeed again on the center stage for international business. How
can you say that your country's economy is improved/improving when there is
inflation on the prices of the basic commodities? Just recently, it is all over the
news that prices of rice, sugar, meat, garlic, oil, and others have increased but
the wage of workers didn't. For the people in the middle or lower class, it is
already hard to budget their money for their basic needs and now that these
products' prices doubled and some even tripled, it will be an additional burden
for them to sustain their basic needs. And another thing, if our country's
economy is improved, why are there still a lot of poor Filipinos? You walk
around places and see families sleeping on sidewalks and abandoned buildings
or areas, not being able to eat at least two to three meals a day because the
money they earn is never enough for the things they need due to their high
prices.
In education, president Aquino cited TESDAs achievement of providing
jobs for ordinary citizens even showcasing a video of some TESDA graduates.
Aside from TESDA which was cited by President Aquino as one of the top
performing government agency, he also noted the DSWDs achievement. But this
is just a small achievement compared to all the problems in education our country
is experiencing. There are many areas especially in the provinces and mountains
where there are no facilities that can be used by the elementary and high school
students, lack of classrooms, books, and other things. The government should
make sure that the funds they allocate for education should really go to the people
and projects that need them. Education is the key to success, so our president
should make big changes to help in improving the education in our country.
I want to say that in my opinion, everything that the president told in his
fifth SONA are all lies. Our country did not improve in any way that he said it did.
I always watch the news at night whenever I can and the news always tells us
about the unfortunate events that happens in our country during Aquino's reign,
from very high prices of basic commodities, to rallies because of Aquino's poor
leading ways, and to the different arising allegations in different sectors of our
government. He is not a good leader because he always uses the name of his
parents and just follows what her sisters are saying.