I did reserve my whole afternoon waiting for the 2nd SONA of the President. I felt there’s a sense of importance in listening to this one, as compared to the appearances of the former Presidents to the opening of the Philippine Congress.

Probably, we are hooked with the unraveling of the big time corruption of the previous administration. I credited the President for this particular kind of achievement.

To people like us who are used to listening the State of the Union Address of the US President before the US Congress, we really find that ours is an elementary and without substance.

 In fairness, the speeches of all the Philippine Presidents before our lawmakers focus only on what they have done the previous years and usually compare it with their predecessors. This is where I find it disturbing to listen for it is full of irrelevant comparisons, vindictiveness and false hopes based on less credible facts and paid surveys.

What makes me listen now is the fact that our President is serious in combating corruption in the government. This is a serious move of the President since this one contributes to the deficits in our democracy, low respect on the rule of law, prevalence of the politics of patronage and utmost poverty.

Without discussing in detail how to fight corruption in the President’s SONA today, the speech would be like a soundless gong or a shallow river.

I am totally happy with the way the President delivered his SONA for he expresses well, seriously and heroically that we have to do something about the grave corruption in the government. I would say that if he will continue this straight for three years, I think something good will happen to our country.

What he clearly articulated in his speech is that corruption did destroy the basic foundation of our nation and we must do something and he is serious about it.

I will not expect him to give us the rundown of everything for I may lose in the maze of so many things. Like the rest of the Filipinos, I am so forgetful to things political leaders are saying.

With this one, it’s crystal clear that corruption is his focus and it has to be eradicated in all levels of our governance.  The rest will follow.

He also mentioned that it is also another form of corruption where millions of self-employed businessmen paying only about a few thousand of pesos a year in tax. A call is being made that the private sector must also share in helping the administration in fighting corruption.

In my previous writings, I did say that I did not vote for Noynoy but with his current fight against corruption, I sense that I voted for the wrong person.  If he will do this fervently, he will achieved what his father never took and he will venture what his mother was afraid to dwell upon. For us, it’s time to give our full and unwavering support to the President.