3rd SONA draws mixed reactions


Two years in the office as President of the Republic of the Philippines, Benigno S. Aquino’s third State of the Nation Address (SONA) has not escaped ‘like and dislike’ from both supporters and critics who scrutinized every line and statistics blurted out by the President.   
Some ‘likes’ were tentative or seemingly half-hearted while some dislikes were extreme as expected by the allies of the current administration. 

Senator Jinggoy Estrada said that it was the most realistic SONA so far.  His father said the same of it, adding that it is “well-crafted”.

Political analyst and University of the Philippines professor Prospero de Vera thought that the SONA has more pluses than minus, but said “it is a long speech and short and limited legislative agenda”. 

Zambales Representative Mitos Magsaysay said that it left more questions than answers.
Some quarters also questioned the veracity of the statistics on criminality.  The Philippine National Police supposedly recorded a rise in crimes specifically in Metro Manila in the first half of 2012 but the President only compared the 2009 and 2011 statistics.

Senator Bongbong Marcos was also skeptical about some statistics: “we might have to look into the numbers”.

Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte was quick to defend that inclusion of 2012 statistics would give an incomplete picture of it compared to the mentioned years.

Bayan Muna Partylist Representative Teddy Casiño was disappointed that the President failed to discuss high oil prices.  He shared the same sentiment with the transport groups which are contemplating on increase in fares.

The media was not pleased that the Freedom of Information (FOI) has not been mentioned by the President but expected it already, and knew it is not a priority bill.

The President’s pronouncement on responsible parenthood did not also suit well with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) which stands by its anti-reproductive health bill position.

Outside the Batasan Pambansa, protest actions were a little too uncontrollable for the police.  

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