The color of the SONA

Mrs. Arroyo wore a fushcia colored dress, described a radio reporter who covered the State of the Nation address (SONA) yesterday. There were instances where Mrs. Arroyo wore shades of red or a simple fiery red dress--when she gave that SONA that condemned rebel soldiers who trooped to a posh hotel just to make a statement.

Now, many people, especially those who criticize her, see this as an expression of her fighting stance. Yes, many would definitely give some "color" into this. Though Mrs. Arroyo's color selection is simply out of touch and definitely NOT the fashion color of this year (yellow is 'IN'), observers believe this highlights her main message---fight for the Filipino People.

Arroyo believes that she's fighting a good fight---improving the economy, giving houses to the poor and enhancing the investor environment. For some though, she failed, and failed miserably.

She's fighting to stay in power, some say. Her speech yesterday was not what we expect her to say--that she'll step down from that perch come June 2010. But, we're not that naive. Her greedy husband and son just told us the truth---she intends to leave Malacanang and we must believe them. Why?

They know the implications of such a thing. If they renege on this, they know that they'll be courting disaster. It's really their fault. Arroyo made a mistake when she announced her political plans on Rizal day in Baguio. And they love giving double-talks. If Arroyo lied, then, let her be. She knows her accountabilities.

This is something which I observed. Instead of relaying the right message, Mrs. Arroyo actually showed her tendency to be really out of touch of reality. That summarizes her entire administration.

For example, she gave us a glowing rundown of economic policies, which, are really excellent. Yet, what she probably failed to say is there is still a growing segment of our population that did not see or even felt this. GDP and GNP are two indicators of economic progress. Yet, for those in the lowest rungs of society, these terms mean nothing.

She talked about the vastly improving ICT sector but what she failed to say is, those who belonged to the 600,000 or so people who got jobs from this sector, all belonged to the educated (at least) segment of the society. Of course, there is some spillover effects, like in the construction business. And indirectly, some segments of the poorest classes benefited by working as masons and construction workers. Yet, as I said, this is still a work in progress.

Now, if we ask then, should we then conclude that she failed in her performance as president? Not entirely. She was able to weather all these storms that came in her way---political and economic instabilities. It takes a strong willed leader to survive all that. And for that, let's give her credit.

It takes a very strong political will to be able to realize the dreams of 1.8 million Filipino families to own their own house and lots. It takes a strong political desire to keep the economy afloat despite the strong surges of the global financial tsunami. Strong leadership is also needed in a patron-client kind of political system, where people's loyalties are based on "what is in store for me?" instead of "what do you offer as a vision so that my performance as a public servant is enhanced?" And surely, it takes more than patience to deal with rapacious business suit-wearing ass-lickers and opportunists who lurk in the shadows inside the palace.

What is important is, Mrs. Arroyo's administration just proved one glaring fact---we need a change in the system. Honestly, our choices to succeed her lack one or two very important leadership qualities. Of course, these people have their own management styles and concepts of governance. But, these are, at best, unproven. They are all abstractions.

In a culture such as ours, weak leadership means one thing---an unstable and weak government, susceptible to attacks against all political forces, be it beneficent or malevolent. In a state of transition, weaker political players wait in the wings for the opportunity to strike. To her credit, Mrs. Arroyo successfully handled the government despite charges of corruption, power monopoly, and interventionist actions by her husband.

Mrs. Arroyo's actions are good studies in state dynamics and public administration. It is a classic case of balancing power.

2009 SONA: Arroyo should be given the benefit of the doubt

Thousands flocked to that long stretch of Commonwealth avenue, many of them flag-carrying youngsters and old street parliamentarians. There were young and old ones the same faces that have marched since 2002. It was one of the biggest congregation of anti-Arroyo forces. They were all there, a few kilometers away from Batasang Pambansa, to hear what Mrs. Arroyo has to say about the Philippine state of affairs.

I was also there. I braved the rains and tried to get as much footage as possible of the thousands of young men and women all marching together to express their rage against Mrs. Arroyo. Many hoped that this is the last State of the Nation address (SONA) of the most hated president of Philippine history. Veterans of the First Quarter Storm, senators, congressmen and those who considered themselves "opposition" were all in attendance. We were all ready to hear Arroyo's speech.

Her speech was what many expect it to be---a litany of achievements which she did for all these years. 700,000 poor and impoverished families saved from hunger thru the poverty-alleviation program. Eight million jobs created by encouraging foreign investments and improving the local economy. Almost two million Filipino Families given homes. Several Overseas Filipino Workers (about 700 of them) saved from the Arabian gallows. Roads and bridges were constructed. Foreign debt somewhat lessened to about 7% of GDP and pump priming the economy to a level has never before seen in the history of the young Philippine Republic.

If you seriously look at the economic data, especially from the National Statistics Office (NSO), Mrs. Arroyo was not joking at all when she boasted that we're not in pretty bad shape (not yet, I guess). Mrs. Arroyo and her administration really tried to improve the economy. That 5-7% inflation rate and those annual 7-8% economic growth are nothing to sneeze at. Even at the height of the former Ramos administration, we did not see that kind of growth.

Admit it---Mrs. Arroyo did an extremely good job in the economy. Through her efforts, we were insulated from the dire effects of the global financial crisis. The fact that we're not under recession (yet) shows you that serious efforts are being made by the Arroyo administration to somewhat protect us from further slipping into a very serious economic meltdown.

And that is not an easy thing to do. Inheriting a government burdened by a 500 billion peso debt seems a tall order. But, not for Mrs. Arroyo who worked her ass off just to prove that her administration has the political will to see us thru the hard times.

Why am I saying this after hundreds of entries demolishing Mrs. Arroyo for her failure to address certain sensitive issues, like unemployment and peace and order and of course, graft and corruption?

I realized that it's time to give Mrs. Arroyo a chance to redeem herself. When she told the throng who were there in Congress that she's determined to finish her term and possibly retire after, I believed her. I believe that, this time, she had had it. She's done. She already proved to all that, despite the demonising and the mud-slinging, she can still hack it.

Critics and some allies alike say, Mrs. Arroyo is not done yet. She did'nt categorically say that she's stepping down. There was no categorical yes and no categorical no. So, echoing what Prof. David said, Mrs. Arroyo has still some ace in her sleeves. Democracy is still threatened by her continued presence at the palace.

Crap. Come on.

Mrs. Arroyo already gave what she believes is her valedictory address. If you're the president, you' would not say those "categoricals" simply because you want to avoid a situation where people would mistakenly conclude that you're already a lame duck. There are still tons of unfinished business for Mrs. Arroyo and she wants to pursue them before she calls it a day.

If she states "categorically" that she's done, people would pounce on her and declare that she's already a lame duck, a spent political force, a dud. And if you're considered a dud, a lame duck, you simply would not be able to finish what you've started, especially when these "political vultures" around.

It is time to give Mrs. Arroyo the benefit of the doubt and try to help her with her unfinished projects. That, I think, is the best way for us to be assured that she'll be stepping down come June 2010.

Some people, I think, Professor Randy David say, don't believe her. She has the tendency to "double talk".

Let me then ask Prof. David--so, what will we do? Do you have suggestions? Are we just going to wait for her " yes, I'll not run" speech before we help her and act? Or, are we waiting for the heavens to fall? We're not that stupid I presume. For me, it's enough that Mrs. Arroyo already said that she does not have any intention of staying one minute longer come June 2010.