By EFREN L. DANAO
President Benigno Aquino 3rd is so popular and so well loved by Filipinos that the Philippine National Police (PNP) has assigned only 6,000 policemen for his security when he delivers his third State-of-the-Nation Address this Monday. This modest security detail is in addition to the regular security force of the Batasan and to the Presidential Security Group that will have complete control of all security-related issues at the complex on that day.
Six thousand is just a little less than five percent of the total manpower of the PNP. Correct me if I’m wrong but I think that that is bigger than the security previously given to the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos when he delivered his SONA during the martial law regime. Why, it might even be bigger than that given to former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in her SONAs—and she couldn’t light a candle to President Aquino insofar as popularity is concerned.
Don’t get me wrong though. I’m not criticizing the size of the security to be given to the President. In fact, I even think the PNP is being miserly in protecting the President. It should leave no stone unturned in making sure that our very popular President will not come into harm’s way. If a thousand more policemen are needed to keep our President secure, then the PNP should provide it.
But what if the concentration of police force for the SONA will encourage criminals to go on a binge? Oh well, the security of the President is much more important than that of hundreds of ordinary Filipinos, never mind if there’s no known threat to his life.
***
Don’t expect surprises on SONA day. Everything will happen as in previous SONAs. Classes will be suspended to enable more students to listen (?) to the address. Inside the Batasan where there will be a joint session of the House and the Senate to hear the SONA, supporters of the President will clap themselves silly at his every pronouncement, be it wise or otherwise. The newspapers the following day will report the number of times that the President’s speech was interrupted by applaus, and how long his adoring supporters gave him a standing ovation.
Outside the Batasan, demonstrators will proclaim what they consider the true state of the nation. The police security will do its best to keep the demonstrators more than a kilometer away from the joint session. This day belongs to the President and nobody should contest this. The President will never get to hear the voices of the demonstrators but so what? He can still hear the voices of the members of his inner circles, which count more.
A day or two after the SONA, a senator and a congressman from the minority will deliver what they call “Contra-SONA.” Oh yes, the “Contra-SONA” delivered by Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano two years ago was anything but that because he actually sang hosanna for the President.
One year after the SONA, the people will be left wondering whatever happened to the promises aired in that ritual undertaken with so much fanfare.
***
The SONA is meaningful only if it gives a correct picture of the country’s state and prescribes the appropriate “medicine.” Oh sure, many SONAs had provided a promising road map for the government. Sadly, little or no follow-ups were made, thus making the SONA a mere saliva festival. President Aquino spoke of among other things, a Public-Partnership Program and of making the opening of new business less tedious in his first SONA. Pray, tell me, just what has happened to these after two years?
If the Constitution is to be amended, it should include a provision making the SONA mandatory only at the start of the First Regular Session. This annual rigmarole is something that we can do without. We will miss nothing. After all it takes Congress and the administration a long time to implement the promises made at the SONA. This inertia is most obvious during the Third Regular Session of Congress when most lawmakers are very busy preparing for the upcoming election.
More on PAL
In my last column, I questioned why Philippine Airlines is charging a Las Vegas-Manila round-trip fare that is $772 more expensive than that charged by Korean Air. Well, here comes a comment from Jerry Lopez, who works at the Clark County district attorney’s office.
“Most of the Filipinos living here do not patronize Philippine Airlines because obviously of the expensive fares, also because of poor service.”
He added that most of the Filipinos in Las Vegas believe that “the airline is greedy and has not given back to the people.”
“In the end, capitalism triumphs over patriotism,” his email ended.
No comments:
Post a Comment