SONA ‘untruthful’ — CBCP president
From a moral point of view, President Arroyo’s purported last State of the Nation Address (SONA) was untruthful.
Outgoing Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Angel Lagdameo said the SONA delivered on Monday contained only half-truths since it did not tell the actual situation of the nation.
“The state of the nation should also be looked at from the experiences and eyes of the remaining millions who are still suffering from hunger, illiteracy, unemployment, homelessness and sickness. This would balance the picture. They were outside the SONA site,” Lagdameo said in a statement, “Balancing Two Realities.”
The June 2009 Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on hunger showed that one in every five Filipinos had experienced “involuntary hunger” in the first quarter of the year. This translates to 3.7 million families experiencing hunger, up from 2.9 million in the previous February 2009 survey.
An SWS face-to-face survey in February 2009 also found that adult unemployment rose to 14 million from 11 million in the previous quarter.
Arroyo trumpeted her government’s achievements in the last 8 years, saying her policies and programs will benefit the next generation. She was also in a combative mood, lashing at her critics for raising the martial law bogey and that she was determined to stay in her post no matter the cost.
The Jaro archbishop said statistics and figures mentioned by Arroyo do not jibe with “the current situation, perceptions and perspectives of the people from below.”
He criticized the SONA for its generalizations which are “not always reflective of the micro (level).” He said the suffering of the people “are missed in the statistics.”
Far from the rosy picture that Arroyo had depicted, Lagdameo observed that “the circumstances surrounding the SONA” belie what Arroyo reported to Congress.
“There were threats of boycotting the SONA which some have done! The caravans of protests against Charter Change! The Red Alert signal! The thousands of PNP and military at the SONA site, covering the security of the President and (daw!) the protesters against infiltrators.”
He added: “These sent the message of fear and insecurity.”
Lagdameo, who has been critical of the President, was also hopeful that a “better Philippines” will resurrect after the 2010 May elections. “This hopefully is the last SONA of the present administration.” ABS-CBN News