Position Paper SONA 2013 It is mandated by the Constitution as provided in Art. VIII, Sec.

. 23 stating, The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session. He may also appear before it at any other time. Hence, the state of the nation (SONA) rendered by President Aquino, III is not only vested according to tradition but also through constitutional provision. It is the fourth SONA of the President enroute to his end of term this coming 2016. As with all SONA rendered by the President, it is one mired not only with concurring reactions but also lots of dissenting ones, especially from sectors opposed to the administration. Though one may find credence to those opposing views, a position thereof should come from the salient points of the address itself as it is the embodiment of what the President has achieved, and intended to achieve with the last remaining years of his administration as limited by the Constitution. Therefore, from such salient points I intend to posit my views regarding the SONA. First of all, I am one of the positivists few who believe in what the present administration has achieved over the years from its inception. That from the turbulent records set by the previous administration of traditional politicians; it is a welcome feeling to have a new set of leaders that deviate from the norms of bureaucratic inefficiencies and corrupt red tape practices. Although one may contend that President Aquino, III belongs to ambit of traditional politicians, the records set and the good examples meted by his parents offset the negative connotation rendered by such adjective. And it is in my present opinion that such unblemished reputation is being carried out by the President with respect to the manner of which he established reforms to weed out practices contrary to moral, public order, public policy, or good custom. It started with the truth commission albeit it was rendered unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. It then transgressed to the impeachment of the Chief Justice and various reforms in the departmental agencies. With the present SONA delivered by the President, I am of most admirable with regards to the disciplining of low-performing agencies. I believed it is of utmost importance that performance scale should be instituted with departmental agencies to gauge their performance and weed out liabilities that could hamper the transition to the road of productivity. The termination of the heads of National Irrigation Authority, as well the Bureau of Immigration is a welcome reminder that the President mean business with regards to deficiencies of his cabinet. Another commendable thing pertains to the economic gains of the country, with the recent one being upgraded to investment grade which is a welcome sign for the country in a step towards economic sufficiency. I cant however fathom how militants can seek to find a negative issue out of what could be glorious news. The poverty of the country cannot and will not be eradicated by such mere upgrade. Nor can such upgrade curtail the various problems facing society. It is immaterial and irrelevant to raise the issue of poverty and connect it directly with the upgrade. It is part of the solution but not the solution itself. To speak with, it is not only the State that must do its part in the fight against poverty but more importantly, it is the people who must act for action and not wait for action against poverty. This was highlighted by the President when he asks the people what they can do for their country as part of their civic responsibility. The subsidies pertaining to the MRT and LRT need to be lowered but not totally eradicated. I believed too much subsidy is burdensome on the part of the government. The lowering of cost can be converted to added income that can be used to purchase new coaches for

additional trains and trips. This will encourage more people to use the trains and hence alleviating the perennial traffic problem among major thoroughfares. With the major reforms instituted, it is now imperative for the President to continue them and be part of the legacy of his administration. The projects started should nevertheless be completed and targets met before his term expires. I will remain positivists as long as I see actions beneficial to the welfare of the State and be critical if I would see otherwise.