State of the Nation Address

The 5th State of the Nation Address of the President today was emotionally charged. She spoke of a change in the constitution towards parliamentary/federalism. Her 23-minute speech was interrupted almost 30 times with applause from the government officials who have attended the event, presumably because majority of the attendees supported her in allaspects. Several opposition members just bit their tongues and kept quiet all throughout. When the President ended her speech, it was apparent that she was holding back tears. Perhaps she realized it could be her last.

I have mixed emotions regarding this event. Part of me wished that she could have spoken about her stand in the current scandals surrounding the legitimacy of her
Presidency and of the other scandals involving members of her family. It could have been her chance not only to explain her side regarding allegations of cheating during the past election, the ?Gloria-gate? tapes, but also her response to the call of several groups of the society to step down. Many who were interviewed after the SONA also noted her avoidance of these issues and have expressed disappointment about it. Didn?t she realize that, in this time that so many people were speaking out their views about her, this SONA is her chance that she will be heard and many would be listening? This is what I would have done if I were President. But, that is the very thing, I am not. Perhaps she may have her own reasons for keeping quiet about these issues. But I?m not sure if that would really do her good. And looking at the increasing chaos in the streets, in the congress, and even in the Senate and at her haggard face, the worst is yet to come for her.

I wonder what she is holding on to, during these very difficult times, with her son and her husband gone abroad, her most trusted cabinet members resigning from her post, politicians changing sides. In times like this, to whom could she give her trust?

No, I am not one of the pro-GMA. I do not speak for her defense because I care
for her as Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the President of the Philippines. I see her now as a human being under heat of speculations and accusations of misuse of the people?s trust. Guilty or not, she still has the right to defend herself in a court of law. Let her undergo the impeachment process. We cannot make her step down on the basis of a wiretapped audio recording of a supposed conversation and a seeming admission of a crime. People still dream of EDSA People Power. And this, of course, we should not forget. But the EDSA People Power had its time and it was done because the situation called for it. But this time is not a time for another people power. The Constitution is still here for us to hold on to.