SONA

I don't know why I felt insulted at the way President Arroyo smiled on national television while addressing lawmakers during her 6th State of the Nation Address (SONA) in congress.

Is it because the promises she made were too incredible or is it because I heard it from a president who had seem to lost the trust and confidence of the people?

As a Filipino who wants to hear something good from my president, I would have been jumping in joy after the SONA for her promise of a better life for the Filipino people in the future, even though she didn't actually delivered a state of the nation address that every Filipino ought to hear from their chief executive.

I didn't hear her deliver the state of the nation, at least compared, to its Asian neighbors in terms of economic growth and development; in terms of political stability, or instability for that matter; or in terms of trade & industry and job creation.

Maybe because what I really want to hear from her are the good news. Real ones, like the Filipino people are no longer suffering from extreme poverty and hunger; that they now have access to safe drinking water, sanitation, proper nutrition and health care.

I want to hear that my fellow Filipinos in the rural areas are no longer landless, or those who live in the urban areas have a home of their own.

Hopefully, if not from Mrs Arroyo, I will hear it from the next president who will deliver the SONA after her term.