[…] L. Quezon III blogs about why boycotting the Sona is wrong in […]

You’re right. I couldn’t comprehend the kind of politicians we have especially the opposition. Can’t they not exercise statemanship and rise above partisanship for a while? There seems to be no end to the visceral hatred of the opposition to GMA.

The lady will be gone in 3 years times. My personal take on the opposition antics of not attending the SONA is plain and simple puerile mentality. If the SONA is not important and just a mere speech, then, why go through the process when GMA can make every speech she wants in Malacanang? I hope we can have politicians that would transcend the political divide of party affiliation and behave in a manner befitting their exalted position. We need opposition but not the kind that we have now.

First things first. I tend to agree with Congressman Rufus. Personally, I will not listen to the President’s ZONA, not because I’m not pro-GMA (nothing personal), but because of the following reasons:
1.) Her previous ZONAs were either too
hollow, meaningless, or hypocritical.
2.) I will know about it later from my
fellow bloggers here.
3.) I don’t want to hear the canned
and scripted applause.
If I am in the shoes of the opposition senators, like for example, Senators Lacson and Pimentel, my feet would be itching to attend, then while the president is delivering the speech would heckle and whistle my lungs out on every turn, feeling how disgusting the substance of her speech is, so can’t help it. But, since I’m senator of the land, and senators of this country are supposed to be honorable gentlemen, unlike in some countries where legislators could do some brawling in the session hall and still be considered honorable gentlemen, I would be afraid I might be politically disgraced if I do even such mundane thing as a whistle. So I think I won’t. Tessie Oreta had learned her lesson well during the Erap impeachment trial, and all she did was wiggle her hips a couple of times, just that. So, if I am in the shoes of the opposition senators, I will boycot the ZONA.

1: In 2001, the president read a letter written in a “bangkang papel” by three Payatas children. What will she read this time?
d. A letter folded into a paper airplane each thrown by Senate President Pimentel (letter from environmentalists) and Speaker of the House Garcia (letter from MayniLA informal settlers along da riles who were relocated only AFTER the election)
e. A tear-soaked letter from Mrs. Burgos
f. An epitaph-like letter from Musa (Dimasidsing)

It’s not a question of visceral hatred Cortes, for some the intense opposition against Gloria can, in part, be summed up in this article:

State of the nation

By Conrado de Quiros
Inquirer
Last updated 01:57am (Mla time) 07/23/2007

MANILA, Philippines — Since GMA delivered the State of the Nation Address last July, several things have happened. Those things, not necessarily in their order of importance, are:

One, she has become—something for Ripley’s or Guinness—the longest-serving president of this country without ever having been voted president. She will be delivering her seventh Sona today, the most since Ferdinand Marcos. She has occupied Malacanang longer than President Cory Aquino, who birthed People Power; Fidel Ramos, who brought forth relative prosperity before the 1997 Asian crisis; and Joseph Estrada, who won the most votes among any postwar Philippine president. Seven was a lucky number for the late dictator. One can only hope lightning won’t strike twice.
Two, Jonas Burgos disappeared some months ago and remains missing. As far as I know, Burgos is the first time the killings—I can only hope too I am terribly wrong to include him among the victims—came to Metro Manila. A thing I had been warning about in the face of public apathy: that something like that could happen to the son of a certified hero, one who had made it to the list of the world’s 100th best journalists to commemorate the end of the last century, and one who had in fact helped epically to restore life to this country. Well, the unthinkable isn’t just thinkable today, it is commonplace today.

Jonas Burgos has become the living symbol—yes living, his spirit, or memory, or name at least will not die—for the wholesale massacre of journalists and political activists, a monstrosity that remains unabated to this day. Despite the cries of the kin of the victims, despite the remonstrations of the Supreme Court, despite the fulminations of the civilized world. Jonas Burgos too has become the living reminder of something else that has disappeared in this country: Freedom. He remains missing, freedom remains missing.

Three: Which brings us to the Anti-Terror Act. A few months ago, the Melo Commission and the Alston Report accused government of having a hand in the killings, directly or indirectly. It responded by arresting Satur Ocampo for the communist purges of the 1980s. Today, Edita Burgos, the bishops and the Supreme Court accuse government of wreaking terror upon the land. It has responded by unleashing the Anti-Terror Law.

One is tempted to ask, how’s that for missing the point? But it does not miss the point. The point of the Anti-Terror Law is not to stop terror, it is to foment terror. The point of the Anti-Terror Law is not to stop killers and murderers, it is to murder critics and protesters.

Four, by the blackest of black magic, Juan Miguel Zubiri and not Koko Pimentel will be attending the Sona today as a senator. He will be conferred, as all members of the Legislature are, the title of “lawgiver.” It stands to reason. People who break the law are called “law enforcers,” people who flout the law are called “lawgivers.” It follows the same logic as conferring the title of anti-terrorists to: Juan Ponce Enrile, believed to have faked an assassination attempt to justify martial law; Noberto Gonzales, believed to be responsible for the killings; Raul Gonzalez, believed to be completely irresponsible; and GMA, whom nobody believes.

Five, Lito Atienza has been appointed head of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources. He has the best qualification of all: He deforested Arrocerros Park, which once gave refuge to birds, lovers, and bedraggled folk in the urban jungle called Manila. Same logic as previous examples. There is no truth to the rumor “Doon Po Sa Amin” will be played in lieu of “Lupang Hinirang” in the Batasan today, but there is no truth to the rumor the state of the nation may be found in the Batasan either. There is more truth in the lines: “The lame danced, the mute sang, the blind watched, and the deaf listened.”

Six, Bedol is still at large, Garci is still at small. Lintang Bedol had the near-perfect costume when he appeared at the Comelec for the first time after mounting a disappearing act like Garci: He was wearing an eye patch. It made him look like a pirate. I refuse to say Moro pirates, that is grossly insulting Moros. And I use the phrase “look like” grudgingly. The costume would have been perfect if he had worn eye patches on both eyes to remind the world that, worse than a pirate, he is a Comelec official.

Garci, well, he actually ran for congressman in Bukidnon, using as his campaign ditty, “Hello Garci,” sung to the tune of “Hello Dolly.” Thankfully, he lost; not very thankfully the person he helped put in power is still there. Who knows? Maybe Bedol will run for congressman too, and taking off from “Idol si Pidol,” use the slogan “Edol si Bedol.”

Seven, onward: They tried to oust Jojo Binay as mayor of Makati late last year and before the elections this year. They must really hate elected officials. Some nurses tried to emulate their idol in Malacanang by cheating in the exams. Unfortunately, the US authorities refused to give all of them visas. The military officers, including the two living Medal of Honor recipients, who tried to make the AFP better languish in jail, the military officers who succeeded in making the AFP worse revel (and rake money) in power. They sprung Daniel Smith in jail for committing rape, they keep Antonio Trillanes in jail for committing to reform. They killed the impeachment bids, they tried to force Inang Bayan to Cha-Cha, they shot Musa Dimasidsing to death for the heinous crime of being honest.

Finally, as the longest-serving postwar president of this country after Marcos, GMA made this country the most corrupt in Asia.

Pretty much the only bright spot that happened in all this time is that somebody got sick.

The state of the nation? Lying in state—in more ways than one.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view_article.php?article_id=78172

Meanwhile there is no gate pass for Senator Trillanes in the upcoming SONA. What does this mean? Double standards? Does this mean Gloria and her cohorts are scared of him? Or does it mean that their conscience are severely pricked every time they see the victorious and vindicated Trillanes?

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=78179

[…] Opposition split on snubbing SONA: my view is, Boycotting the SONA is wrong. […]

To: Ahmad

Visceral hatred is it, eh, Ahmad. How about visceral affection-an inborn loving of your idol. Or, shall we say congenital, eh, Ahmad?

[…] Manolo is liveblogging today’s proceedings. I might take note of the President’s words on the economy later; after all, this is a business blog. He also reminds those Senators who may be planning to boycott today’s SONA to just show up. […]

Well, I think senators and congressmen should not boycott the SONA. It may be filled with lies, empty promises and all that, but just the same, what matters most is not the person (who delivers the SONA), but the office from which the SONA “emanates”. And if they want to dramatize their “opposition” against GMA, what better place than to be inside Batasan? They should take the cue of Franklin Drilon; while he attended, he just showed his apparent displeasure by not clapping, by scowling and all that. Statesmanship is an important trait for a politician. But with schools and universities generating students who can afford to boo guests right inside their campuses even in important occasions, pelting them with eggs or showing off protest streamers in the midst of a graduation rite, maaasahan pa ba natin na makakakita tayo ng mga totoong statesmen? Just asking.

And haven’t you noticed that some of our senators and congressmen today are acting like as if they are hosts of The Buzz and Entertainment Central? One tsismis and lo and behold, a senator or a congressman will claim he has also heard this and that but would not even bother to support their claims. Hay naku.

Well, I think the opposition will do us a disservice if they will boycott the SONA. For one thing they should bask in the thought that GMA is making herself vulnerable by making again another set of stupid lies and promises…and brazenly think that the people are stupid and actually believe her.

And Bert, blogging will be much more meaningful if we listened to whatever she would have said, either lies or truths. We can debate, quarrel, agree and disagree. For all we know, we might find ourselves on the same fence as her. We do not know. We just have to be open to a lot of possibilities. She might surprise us positively! Since I will not be able to listen to it, can somebody share a transcript of her SONA?

It will also be nice to observe how many times JDV would stand up and applaud if he gets elected as the Speaker of the House…is that the title? I thought it is the Wheeler Dealer of the House. If Garcia, gets the Speakership, it will be interesting to observe if he will do a JDV, leading the applause 166 times or break the record by leading the applause for every sentence that GMA will make. Isn’t that lovely…to be entertained by these fools!

On GMA’s SONA, I think the mindset everybody has to take is just be ready to be entertained!

SONA??? It is full of lies and promises again. Nothing to expect more from iligitimate president. Those who will attend are arroyo’s talakitos. Have their millions para pumalakpak kay gloria. Shame!!! Wala na kaming pakialam dahil puro kasinungalingan na naman yan.

SONA Post mortem:

Rep. Garcia, Rep. De Venecia’s erstwhile bitter rival for House Speakership had their respective “troops” try to railroad each other, something tamely reminiscent of their attempt to ram Charter Change down our collective throats only this time they’re doing it to each other much like sharks eating fellow sharks (my apology to the sharks for comparing them to these congressmen, at least sharks eat only what they need to eat).

Garcia was “out-railroaded” by the De Venecia’s troops and now KAMPI’s Garcia and his camp finally tasted what it is like to be railroaded, karma came early to him. In all, the events proved once more the House’s ability to outperform the “Flying Circus” of Baron Von Richtofen and their continuing ability to manipulate parliamentary rules for their own self-interest. One can just imagine if they manage to force through a Parliamentary system in the Philippines in their Cha-cha attempt. They cannot even follow Parliamentary rules now!

I later tried to watch Gloria’s SONA as advised by Manuel Quezon III but I have to confess I slept in the middle of the speech. The seal-like clapping of the Congressmen gave me an impression of seals clapping on-stage for fish after a circus performance (again my apologies to the seals) not unlike Congressmen clapping for pork-barrel allocations. It gave a hypnotic effect that lulled me to sleep. The next day I read the transcript of the Gloria speech, hohum, what else was new. If she can withdraw her promise not to run for President last 2004, what would stop her from lying again come this 2010 elections? Nada.

One bright light this morning though. Some citizen reported that a creek was clogged with garbage and this led to a clean-up to the area. Their action was immediate and was covered by media. Now that kind of performance I believe.

Abe

Ayaw mong maentertain? For free?

Not everyone knows about what Gloria Arroyos’s achievements in her governance. We as an OFW defying the fact that we are impinge on what is going on in our Peso inflation. We are more affected on that rather than those political achievements that she has mentioned. We don’t care for what she accomplished in the past but what we care about is how she can help us to deplete the cost of our commodities.

“Peso inflation should be equaled to cost commodities depletion.”

GMA doesn’t know what she is saying in her SONA and that really finds me amusing. For the record, she stated that there should be “harsh” punishments for those officials who, in any form involved in extra-judicial killings…yet she passed a Presidential Decree that refrains her officials from any inquiry done by the senate or the lower house (nakalimutan ko yung PD number pero alam ko valid pa yun hanggang ngayon). Walang KWENTA!!!

THE QUESTION OF WHETHER FILIPINO CONGRESSMEN AND SENATORS ATTEND GLORIA’S SONA IS IRRELEVANT. SHE IS NOT A LEGIT LEADER OF THE COUNTRY. SHE IS IN EFFECT EXERCISING THE POWER OF THE PRESIDENCYWITHOUT AUTHORITY FROM THE PEOPLE. SHE IS BOGUS AND HER SPEECH IS NULL AND VOID.

I read quickly the SONA, yes nothing really new, they were projects that have been there that took ages to finish. It gave me an impression that it was a roll call of friends and people she wants to make friends with. I felt bad about it because I got this feeling that as an ordinary Filipino, I am a less important being. Imagine referring to Cavite as Bong Revilla’s province. Can’t she just say Cavite and not Bong Revilla’s province? It is as if only one person owns the province! Now, I am not so surprised that most Cavitenos would prefer her not to visit the province, such insincerity!

The SONA personally doesn’t sound interesting…we must take a look on their actions and analyze the situation if they had really made a step on their “promises”. But let’s be optimistic.

too much of GLORIA’S POLITIC’S… there are plenty of misguided information about her sona that she attributed every single project she mentioned…. THIS IS JUST FOR ONE PARTICILAR INSTANCE IN PALAWAN. the puerto to roxas road had long been finished project, it was a ramos administration initiated project but completed at the time of estrada… (kung pwede lang magreklamo yung kalsada dahil 3 presidente na ang nag-inaguarate sa kanya. just for another photo ops)
the busuanga airport a KOREAN COMPANY PROJECT…. she boast the taytay el nido road… it has been long over-due, she mentioned it in her 2006 sona and even the san vicente airstrip… if this president continue with this kind of rhetoric, what’s more in other provinces. THE NEXT PRESIDENT AFTER HER WILL HAVE PLENTY OF BURDEN TO CARRY AND IRON OUT ALL THIS EMPTY PROMISES OF ARROYO ADMINISTRATION. the philippines need a principled, honest & dedicated to the highest ideal of public service LEADER… because it’s a given fact that EVERY FILIPINO has a vision of brighter philippines!

OFW in Afghanistan, it isn’t strange that Gloria said the statement “Bong Revilla’s province” instead of Cavite province. Remember that Gloria herself equates herself as the “State” henceforth the nation. The last time this concept was used was hundreds of years ago when a European king declared “The State is I”.

Her monarchial tendencies are showing. What does she want to imply then? … that Bong Revilla is the Count of Cavite? That makes most of the Filipinos serfs to serve the whim of the monarchy of the Kingdom (or Queendom) of the Philippines.

Kind of ties in to Gloria looking for her “royal ancestral roots” in the Philippines.

Politicians in the Philippines do not read anything beyond the periphery of their imagination. Their ignorance defy the onslought of the internet.

english english p kayo jan!

kayo nalang maging presidente!!! kala nyo madali

Bakit loopz, nahihirapan na ba si Gloria maging matinong presidente? Eh kung ganoon di na lang sana siya tumakbo nung huling halalan tulad ng unang sinabi niya sa madla (may TV coverage pa). Dahil pabagobago ng isip at nakipag “PR” pa kay “Helow Garci” e di ito ang napala niya. Hirap na ba siya? E di sabihin lang niya kung ganoon, wag nang ipadaan sa iyo loopz.

Unbelievable, even General Aguinaldo of Kawit, Cavite will rise from his tomb with his bolo in hand to protest against such shameless claim. To the people of Cavite: If your province really belongs to the good senator, why did not you vote for Bong and Lani when they ran for governor and mayor respectively? If I am to believe the President, is it then implied that Bong’s people are such ingrate for not voting for the owner? No offense meant, just asking, hehehehe. Hi, all you Caviteno guys and dolls, love you. Love you, too, all Pilipinos. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas.

To: loopz

Sige!