P-Noy's Third SONA: Detailed Yet Lacking

July 23, 2012 is one of the noteworthy dates in the Philippine history because it is when President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III delivered his third State of the Nation Address (SONA). As usual, he delivered the said SONA at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives, Quezon City.

I do think that SONA is an address or speech given by the President to his countrymen which mainly tackles about the nation’s status during his administration. At this juncture, I am going to share my insights and criticisms with regards to the recently delivered SONA of P-Noy.  In case you wanted to know, then it is a must for you to continue reading this.

President Aquino’s third SONA started with a litany of what he calls “nightmare” from his predecessor. He continued with the accomplishments of his administration for the past two years and the plans or actions to be undertaken for the rest four more years, in the aspect of Health, Education, Economy, Agriculture, and Infrastructure. He extended his bounteous thanks to his Cabinet Officials, but he was giving them tasks, he was mandating them to work.  His speech allows Filipinos whom he calls his bosses, to hold his administration accountable. He also mentioned the issue about the West Philippine Sea and the fight for justice for the victims of Maguindanao Massacre.

I do commend President Aquino for delivering his message well. It was a detailed SONA but it should have been more specific about laws that should be passed. His accomplishments were detailed, but for me, the report to the nation was lacking. He should have also shared an articulate and coherent strategy on how to curb poverty and he should have also mentioned about the Freedom of Information Bill and the Charter Change. It was such a long speech yet a very short and limited agenda. However, I do still believe that P-Noy’s third SONA had more pluses than minuses.