SONA 2009 - Philippine President Gloria Arroyo
Gloria Arroyo
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's 9th State of the Nation Address
during the 3rd Joint Regular Session of the 14th Congress
of the Republic of the Philippines
Session Hall, Batasan Pambansa Complex
Batasan Hills, Quezon City
July 29, 2009
Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon.
Before I begin my
report please join me
first in a moment
of prayer for President
Aquino.
Senate President Enrile, Speaker
Nograles, Senators, Representatives, Vice
President de Castro,
Former President
Ramos, Chief
Justice Puno, Ambassadors, friends:
The past twelve months have been a
year for the history books. Financial meltdown in
the West spread throughout the world.
Tens of millions lost their jobs;
billions across the globe have been
hurt -- the poor always harder than the rich. No one was spared.
It has affected us already. But the
story of the Philippines in 2008 is
that the country weathered a
succession of global crises
in fuel, in food,
then in finance and finally the
economy in a global recession, never
losing focus and with economic fundamentals intact.
A few days ago Moody's upgraded our
credit rating, citing the resilience of our
economy. The state of our nation is
a strong economy. Good news for our people, bad news for
our critics.
I did not become President to be
popular. To work, to lead, to protect
and preserve our country, our people, that
is why I became President. When my father left
the Presidency, we were second to
Japan. I want our Republic to be ready for the first world in
20 years.
Towards that vision, we made key
reforms. Our economic plan centers on
putting people first. Higit sa lahat,
ang layunin ng ating mga patakaran ay
tulungan ang masisipag na karaniwang
Pilipino. New tax revenues were put in
place to help pay for better
healthcare, more roads, and a strong education
system. Housing policies were designed to lift up our poorer citizens so
they can live and raise a family
with dignity. Ang ating mga puhunan sa
agrikultura ay
naglalayong kilalanin ang
ating mga magsasaka
bilang backbone ng ating
bansa, at bigyan
sila ng mga modernong kagamitan to feed our
nation and feed their own family.
Had we listened to the critics of
those policies, had we not braced ourselves
for the crisis that
came, had we taken
the easy road much
preferred by politicians eyeing elections,
this country would be flat on its
back. It would
take twice the effort just to get
it back again on its feet—to where we
are now because we took the
responsibility and paid the political price
of doing the right thing. For standing
with me and doing the right thing, thank you,
Congress.
The strong, bitter and unpopular revenue measures of the past few years have
spared our country the worst of the
global financial shocks. They gave us the
resources to stimulate the
economy. Nabigyan nila ang
pinakamalaking pagtaas ng IRA ng mga LGU
na P40 billion itong taon, imparting strength
throughout the country at every level of government.
Compared to the past we have built
more and better infrastructure, including
those started
by others
but left
unfinished. The
Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway is a prime example
of building better roads. It creates wealth as
the flagship of the Subic-Clark corridor.
We have built airports of international
standard, upgraded domestic airports, built
seaports and the RORO
system. I ask Congress
for a Philippine Transport Security Authority Law.
Some say that after this SONA, it
will be all politics. Sorry, but
there's more work.
Sa telecommunications
naman, inatasan
ko ang Telecommunications Commission
na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong
na dropped calls at mga
nawawalang load
sa cellphone.
We need
to amend the Commonwealth-era
Public Service Law. And we need to do it now.
Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang
electronics, today we are creating wealth
by developing the BPO and tourism
sectors as additional engines of growth.
Electronics and other manufactured exports
rise and fall in accordance with the
state of the world economy. But BPO
remains resilient. With earnings of
$6 billion and
employment of 600,000,
the BPO phenomenon speaks
eloquently of our competitiveness and
productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.
In the last four years tourism almost
doubled. It is now a $5 billion industry.
Our reforms gave us the resources to
protect our people, our financial system
and our economy from the worst of
shocks that the best in the west
failed to anticipate. They
gave us the resources to extend
welfare support and enhance spending power. For helping me raise
government salaries through Joint Resolution
4, thank you Congress.
Cash handouts give the
most immediate relief and
produce the widest stimulating effect. Nakikinabang ang
700,000 na pinakamahihirap na pamilya sa programang Pantawid Pamilya. We
prioritize projects with
the same stimulus
effects plus long-term contributions to
progress.
Sa pagpapamahagi ng milyun-milyong ektaryang
lupa, 700,000 na katutubo at mahigit isang
milyong benepisyaryo ng CARP ay taas-noong
may-ari na ng sariling lupa. Hinihiling
ko sa Kongreso na
ipasa agad ang pagpapalawig ng CARP,
at dapat ma-condone ang P42 billion na
land reform liabilities
dahil 18% lamang
ang nabayaran mula
1972. It's timely because it will
unfreeze the rural property market. Ang
mahal kong ama ang
nag-emancipate ng mga
magsasaka. Ii-mancipate naman natin ngayon ang titulo.
Nakinabang ang pitong milyong entrepreneurs
sa P165 billion in microfinance loans. Nakinabang ang sandaan
libo sa emergency employment ng ating
economic resiliency plan. Kasama
natin ngayon ang isa
sa kanila, si Gigi
Gabiola. Dating household
service worker sa Dubai,
ngayon siya ay nagtatrabaho sa DOLE. Good
luck, Gigi.
Nakinabang ang isang milyong pamilya sa
programang pabahay at palupa, mula Pag-Ibig,
NHA, community mortgage program, certificates
of lot award, at saka yung inyong loan condonation. Salamat.
Our average inflation is the lowest
since 1966. Last June, it dropped
to 1.5%. Paano? Proper
policies lowered interest rates, which
lowered costs to business and consumers.
Dahil sa ating mga reporma, nakaya
nating ibenta ang bigas NFA sa P18.25 per
kilo kahit tumaas ang presyo sa labas
mula P17.50 hanggang P30 dahil sa
kakulangan sa supply sa mundo. Habang,
sa unang pagkakataon, nagawa nating itaas
ang pamimili ng palay sa mga
magsasaka, P17 mula sa P11.
Dahil sa ating mga
reporma, nakaya nating
mamuhunan sa pagkain -- anticipating
an unexpected global food crisis. Nakagawa
tayo ng libu-libong kilometro ng farm-to-market roads at, kasama ng
pribadong sector, natubigan ang dalawang milyong
ektarya. Mga Badjao
gaya
ni Tarnati Dannawi ay tinuruan ng
modernong mariculture. Umabot na sa
P180,000 ang kinita niya
mula noong nakaraang taon.
Congratulations, Tarnati. We will help more
fisherfolk shift to fish farming with a
budget of P1 billion.
Dahil dumarami na naman daw ang
pamilyang nagugutom, mamumuhunan tayo nga
panibago sa ating hunger mitigation program
na sa nakaraan ay napatunayang mabisa. Tulungan niyo ako dito
Kongreso.
Mula pa noong 2001, nanawagan na tayo
ng mas murang gamot. Nagbebenta tayo ng
gamot na kalahating presyo sa libu-libong
Botika ng Bayan at Botika ng
Barangay sa maraming
dako ng bansa.
Our efforts prodded the
pharmaceutical companies to come up with
low-cost generics and brands like RiteMed.
I supported the tough version of the
House of the Cheaper Medicine law over
the weak version of my critics. The
result: the drug companies volunteered to
bring down drug prices, slashing by
half the prices of 16 drugs. Thank
you, Congressmen Cua, Alvarez, Biron and
Locsin.
Pursuant to law, we are placing other
drugs under a maximum retail price.
To those who want
to be President, this advice: If you
really want something done, just do it.
Do it hard, do it well. Don't pussyfoot.
Don't pander. And don't say bad words in public.
Sa health insurance, sakop na ang 86% ng ating populasyon.
Sa Rent Control Law ng 2005 hanggang
2008, di pwedeng lumampas ng 10% ang
pagtaas ng upa taon-taon. Ayon sa
kakapirma nating batas may isang
taong moratorium, tapos
hanggang 7% lamang
ang maaaring pagtaas. Salamat, Kongreso.
Noong isang taon, nabiyayaan
ng tig-P500 ang mahigit
pitong milyong tahanan bilang Pantawid Koryente ng mga small
electricity users.
Yung presyo ng koryente, ang
EPIRA natin ang sagot.
EPIRA dismantled monopoly. Ngunit minana natin
yung power purchase agreements, kaya hindi
pa natin makakamtan yung buong intended
effect. Pero happy na rin tayo, dahil
isang taon na lamang iyan. The next
generation will benefit from low prices from our EPIRA.
Thank you.
Samantala,
umabot na sa halos
lahat ng barangay ang
elektrisidad. We increased indigenous
energy from 48% to
58%. Nakatipid tayo ng dollars
tapos malaki pa ang na-reduce na oil
consumption. The huge reduction in fossil
fuel is the biggest
proof of energy independence
and environmental responsibility.
Further reduction will come with the implementation of
the Renewable Energy
Act and the
Biofuels Act. Again
thank you. The
next generation will also benefit from
our lower public debt to GDP ratio.
It declined from 78% in 2000 to
55% in 2008. We cut in half the
debt of government corporations from 15% to
7%. Likewise foreign debt from 73% to
32%. Kung meron man tayong malaking
kaaway na tinalo, walang iba kundi conjured the demon of foreign
debt. We exorcised it.
The market grows economies. A free market, not a free-for-all.
To that end, we improved our banking
system to complement its inherent conservatism.
The Bangko Sentral has been prudent. Thank
you, Governor Tetangco, for being so
effective. The BSP will be even more
effective if Congress will amend its Charter.
We worked on the Special Purpose Vehicle Act, reducing non-performing loans
from 18% to 4% and improving loan-deposit ratios. Our new Securitization
Law did not encourage the recklessness
that brought down giant
banks and insurance
companies elsewhere and
laid their economies to
waste. In fact, it
monitors and regulates the
new-fangled financial schemes. Thank you, Congress.
We will work to increase the tax
effort through improved collections and new
sin taxes to further
our capacity to reduce poverty
and pursue growth. Revenue enhancement
must come from the Department of
Finance plugging leaks and catching tax and
customs cheats. I call on tax paying
citizens and tax paying businesses help the BIR and Customs cut those
cheats.
Taxes should come from alcohol and tobacco and not from books. Tax hazards
to lungs and livers, do not tax minds.
Ang kita mula sa buwis ng alak
at sigarilyo ay dapat gamitin sa
kalusugan at edukasyon. Pondohan ang
Philhealth premiums ng
pinakamahihirap. Pondohan ang
mas maraming classroom at computers.
Pardon my partiality for the teaching profession. I was a teacher. Kaya namuhunan tayo ng malaki sa education
at skills training. Ang
magandang edukasyon ay susi
sa mas magandang buhay,
the great equalizer that allows every young Filipino a chance to
realize their dreams. Nagtayo
tayo ng 95,000 na
silid-aralan, nagdagdag ng
60,000 na guro, naglaan ng
P1.5 billion para sa
teacher training, especially
for 100,000 English teachers.
Isa sa pinakamahirap sa Millennium
Development Goals ay yung Edukasyon para sa Lahat
pagdating ng 2015. Ibig sabihin, lahat ng nasa tamang edad ay
dapat nasa primary school. Halos walang
bansang makakatupad nito. Ngunit nagsisikap
pa rin tayo. Nagtayo tayo
ng mga paaralan sa
higit sanlibong barangay na dati walang eskwelahan upang makatipid
ng gastos sa pamasahe ang mga bata. Tinanggal
natin ang miscellaneous fees
para sa primary school. Hindi
na kailangan mag-uniporme sa
mga estudyante sa public school.
In private high schools, we finance half of the students. We have
provided college and
post-graduate education for
over 600,000 scholars. One of
them, Mylene Amerol-Macumbal, finished
Accounting at MSU-IIT, then she went
to law school, and placed second in
the last bar exams, the first Muslim
woman bar topnotcher. Congratulations!
In technical education and skills training, we have invested three times that
of three previous administrations combined.
Narito si Jennifer Silbor, isa sa sampung
milyong trainee. Natuto siya ng medical
transcription. Now, as an independent
contractor and lecturer for
transcriptions in Davao,
kumikita siya ng P18,000 bawat buwan. Good job, Jennifer.
The Presidential Task Force on Education
headed by Jesuit educator Father Bienvenido
Nebres has come out with the Main
Education Highway towards a Knowledge-Based Economy.
It envisions seamless education
from basic to vocational school or college. It seeks to
mainstreams early childhood development in
basic education. Our children are
our most cherished possession.
In their early years
we must make sure they get a
healthy start in life. They must
receive the right food for a healthy body,
the right education for a bright and
inquiring mind -- and the equality of opportunity for a
meaningful job.
For college admission, the
Task Force recommends mandatory
Scholastic Aptitude Tests. It also recommends
that private higher education institutions should be
harmonized with state universities and colleges, and also the CHED
should oversee local
universities and
colleges. For professions
seeking international recognition -- engineering,
architecture, accountancy, pharmacy and
physical therapy --it
recommends radical reform: 10
years of basic education, two years of pre-university
before three years of university.
Our
educational system should make the Filipino fit not just for whatever jobs
happen to be on offer today, but
also for whatever economic challenge life
will throw in their way.
Sa hirap at ginhawa, pinapatatag ang ating bansa ng ating Overseas Filipinos.
Iyong padala nilang $16 billion noong
isang taon ay record. Itong taon, mas
mataas pa.
I know that this is not a
sacrifice joyfully borne. This is work
where it can be found --
in faraway places, among
strangers with different
cultures. It is lonely work, it is hard work.
Kaya nagsisikap tayong lumikha dito sa
atin ng mga trabahong maganda ang sahod,
so that overseas work will just be
a career choice, not the only option for a
hard-working Filipino.
Meanwhile, we should make their sacrifices
worthwhile. Dapat gumawa tayo ng mas
epektibong proteksyon at
pagpapalawak ng halaga ng
kanilang pinagsikapang sweldo. That means
stronger consumer protection for OFWs investing
in property and products back home.
Para sa kanila, pinapakilos natin ang Investors Protection
Task Force.
Hindi ako nag-aatubiling bisitahin ang
ating taong bayan at kanilang mga
host sa buong mundo - mula Hapon
hanggang Brazil, mula Europa at Middle East
hanggang sa American Midwest, nakikinig sa
kanilang mga problema at pangangailangan, inaalam kung
paano sila matulungan ng ating pamahalaan -- by
working out better policies on migrant
labor, or by saving lives and restoring liberty.
Pagpunta ko sa Saudi, pinatawad ni
Haring Abdullah ang pitong daang OFW na
nasa preso. Pinuno nila ang isang buong
eroplano at umuwi kasama ko. Mula sa ating State
Visit sa Espanya, it has become our
biggest European donor. At si Haring Juan
Carlos ay nakikipag-usap sa ibang mga
bansa para sa ating
mga namomroblemang OFW. Ganoon
di si Sheikh Khalifa, ang Prime Minister ng Bahrain.
Pagpunta ko sa Kuwait,
Emir Al-Sabah commuted
death sentences. We thank all
our leaders, all world leaders who shown
compassion with our workers.
Our vigorous
international engagement
has helped
bring in foreign
investment. Net foreign direct
investments multiplied 15 times
during our administration. Kasama ng ating
mga Together with our OFWs, they more
than doubled our foreign
exchange reserves. Pinalakas
ang ating piso at naiwasan ang
lubhang pagtaas ng presyo. They upgraded
our credit because while the reserves of our
peers have shrunk this past year,
ours reserves grew by $3 billion.
Our international engagement has also
corrected historical injustice. The day we
visited Washington, Senator
Daniel Inouye successfully sponsored benefits for our
veterans as part of America's
stimulus package.
I have accepted the invitation of
President Obama to be the first Southeast
Asian leader to meet him at the White House, later this week. That he sought the Philippines testifies to our strong
and deep ties.
High on our agenda will be peace and security issues. Terrorism:
how to meet it, how to end it, how to
address its roots in injustice or
prejudice -- and first and always how to protect lives.
We will discuss nuclear non-proliferation. The Philippines
will chair the review of the nuclear weapons non-proliferation Treaty in New York in May
2010. The success of the talks will
be a major diplomatic achievement for us. There is a range
of other issues we will discuss,
including the global challenge of climate
change, especially the threat to countries
with long coastlines. And there is the
global recession, its worse impact on
poor people, and the options
that can spare them from the worst.
In 2008 up to the first quarter
of 2009 we stood among only a
few economies in Asia-Pacific that did not
shrink. Compare this to 2001, when
some of my current critics were
driven out by people power. Asia
was then surging but our country was on the brink of bankruptcy. Since
then, our economy has posted uninterrupted
growth for 33 quarters; more than doubled
its size from $76 billion to $186
billion. The average GDP growth from 2001
to the first quarter of 2009 is
the highest in 43 years.
Bumaba ang bilang ng mga nagsasabing
mahirap sila sa 47% mula 59%. Maski
lumaki ang ating populasyon,
nabawasan ng dalawang milyon
ang bilang ng mahihirap. GNP per
capita rose from a Third World $967
to $2,000. Lumikha tayo ng walong
milyong trabaho, an average of a million a year, much,
much more than at any other time.
In sum:
1.
We have a strong economy in a
strong fiscal position to withstand political
shocks.
2. We built new modern infrastructure and completed unfinished ones.
3. The economy is more fair to the poor than ever before.
4. We are building a sound base for the next generation.
5. International
authorities have taken
notice that we
are safer from environmental degradation and man-made disasters.
As a country in the path of
typhoons and in the Pacific Rim of
Fire, we must be as
prepared as the
latest technology permits
to anticipate natural calamities when that
is possible; to extend immediate and effective relief when it is
not. The mapping of
flood and landslide-prone areas is almost
complete. Early warning, forecasting and
monitoring systems have been improved, with
weather tracking facilities in Subic, Tagaytay, Mactan, Mindanao,
Pampanga.
We have worked on flood control
infrastructure like those for Pinatubo, Agno,
Laoag, and Abucay, which will pump
the run off waters from Quezon City
and Tondo flooding Sampaloc. This will help
relieve hundreds of hectares in this old city of
its age old woe.
Patuloy naman iyong Camanava, dagdag sa
Pinatubo, Iloilo, Pasig-Marikina, Bicol River Basin, at mga river
basin ng Mindanao.
The victims of typhoon
Frank in Panay
should receive their long-overdue
assistance package. I ask Congress to pass the SNITS Law.
Namana natin ang pinakamatagal
ng rebelyon ng Komunista
sa buong mundo.
Si Leah de la Cruz isa sa
labindalawang libong rebel returnee. Sixteen
pa lang siya nang sumali sa NPA.
Naging kasapi sa regional White Area
Committee, napromote sa Leyte Party Committee
Secretary. Nahuli noong 2006. She is now
involved in an LGU-supported handicraft
livelihood training of former rebels. We love you, Leah!
There is now a good prospect for peace
talks with both the Communist Party
of the Philippines and
the MILF, with whom we
are now on ceasefire. We inherited
an age-old conflict in Mindanao, exacerbated
by a politicallypopular but near-sighted
policy of massive retaliation. This only
provoked the other side to continue the war.
In these two internal conflicts, ang
tanong ay hindi, "Sino ang mananalo?"
kundi, bakit pa ba kailangang mag-laban
ang kapwa Pilipino tungkol sa mga
isyu na alam naman nating lahat na
di malulutas sa dahas, at mareresolba lang sa
paraang demokratiko?
There is nothing more
that I would wish
for than peace in Mindanao. It will
be a blessing for
all its people, Muslim,
Christian and Lumads. It will show
other religiously divided communities that there
can be common ground on which to live
together in peace, harmony and cooperation that
respects each other's religious beliefs.
At sa lahat ng dako ng bansa,
kailangan nating protektahan ang ating mga
mamamayan kontra sa krimen' -- in
their homes, in their neighborhoods, in
their communities. How shall crime be
fought? With the five pillars of justice,
including crime fighters. We call on
Congress to fund more policemen on the
streets.
Real government is about looking beyond
the vested to the national interest,
setting up the necessary conditions to
enable the next, more enabled and more
empowered generation to achieve a country
as prosperous, a people as content, as ours deserve to
be.
The noisiest critics
of constitutional reform
tirelessly and shamelessly attempted
Cha-Cha when they thought they could
take advantage of a shift in the form
of government. Now that they feel they
cannot benefit from it, they oppose it.
As the seeds of fundamental political
reform are planted, let us address the
highest exercise of democracy...voting!
In 2001, I said we would finance
fully automated elections. We got it,
thanks to Congress.
At the end of
this speech I shall step down from
this stage but not from the Presidency.
My term does not end until
next year. Until then, I will fight
for the ordinary Filipino. The nation
comes first. There is much to do as head of state -- to the
very last day.
A year is a long time. Patuloy
ang pamumuhunan sa tinatawag na three E's
ng ekonomiya, environment at
edukasyon. There are many
perils that we must still guard against.
A man-made calamity is already upon
us, global in scale. As I said
earlier, so far we have been spared
its worst effects but we cannot be
complacent. We only know that we have
generated more resources on which to
draw, and thereby created options we could
take. Thank God we did not let
our critics stop us.
As the campaign unfolds and the
candidates take to the airwaves, I
ask them to talk more about how they
will build up the nation rather than
tear down their opponents. Give the
electorate real choices and not just sweet
talk.
Meanwhile, I will keep a steady hand
on the tiller, keeping the ship of
state away from the shallows some prefer,
and steering it straight on the
course we set in 2001.
Ang ating taong bayan
ay masipag at maka-Diyos.
These qualities are epitomized
in someone like Manny
Pacquiao. Manny trained tirelessly, by the book,
with iron discipline, with the certain knowledge that he had to
fight himself, his weaknesses first, before
he could beat his opponent. That was
the way to clinch his victories and
his ultimate title: ang pinakadakilang boksingero
sa kasaysayan. Mabuhay ka, Manny!
However much a President wishes it, a
national problem cannot be knocked out with
a single punch. A president must work
with the problem as much as against it, turn it
into a solution if she can.
There isn't a day I do not work
at my job or a waking moment
when I do not think through a
work-related problem. Even my critics
cannot begrudge the long hours I put
in. Our people deserve a government
that works just as hard as they do.
A President must be on the job
24/7, ready for any contingency, any
crisis, anywhere, anytime. Everything right can be
undone by even a single wrong. Every
step forward must be taken in the
teeth of political pressures and economic
constraints that could push you
two steps back-if-you flinch
and falter. I have not
flinched, I have not faltered. Hindi ako umaatras sa hamon. And I
have never done any of the things that scared my worst critics so much. They
are frightened by their own shadows.
In the face of attempted coups, I issued emergency proclamations just in case.
But I was able to resolve these
military crises with the ordinary powers
of my office. My critics call it
dictatorship. I call it determination. We
know it as strong government. But
I never declared martial law, though
they are running scared as if I did. (laughter) In truth,
what they are really afraid of is
their weakness in the face of this self-imagined threat.
I say to them: do
not tell us what we
all know, that democracy
can be threatened. Tell us what you will do when it is attacked. I know what to do.
As I have shown, I will defend
democracy with arms when it is threatened
by violence; with firmness when it is
weakened by division; with law and order
when it is subverted by anarchy; and
always, I will try to sustain it
by wise policies of economic progress, so
that a democracy means not just an
empty liberty but a full life for all.
I have never expressed the desire to extend myself beyond my term. Many
of those who accuse me of it
tried to cling like nails to their
posts. I am accused of misgovernance.
Many of those who accuse me of it left me the problem of their misgovernance to
solve. And we did it. I am falsely
accused, without proof, of using my
position for personal profit. Many who
accuse me have lifestyles and spending
habits that make them walking proofs of that crime.
We can read their
frustrations. They had the
chance to serve this good
country and they blew it by serving themselves. Those who live in glass houses should cast
no stones. Those who should be in jail should not threaten it, especially if
they have been there.
Our administration, with the
highest average rate of
growth, recording multiple increases in investments, with the
largest job creation in history, and which gets a
credit upgrade at the height of a
world recession, must be doing something
right, even if some
of those cocooned in corporate
privilege refuse to recognize it.
Governance however, is not about looking back
and getting even. It is about looking
forward and giving more -- to the
people who gave us the greatest, hardest gift of
all: the care of a country. From Bonifacio at
Balintawak to Cory Aquino at EDSA and
up to today, we have struggled to
bring power to the people, and this
country to the eminence it deserves.
Today the Philippines is weathering well
the storm that is raging around the world.
It is growing stronger with the challenge. When the weather clears, as it
will, there is no telling how much
farther forward it can go. Believe-in-it. I
believe.
We can and we must-march-forward-with-hope, optimism and determination.
We must come together, work together
and walk together toward the future.
Bagamat malaking hamon ang nasa ating
harapan, nasa kamay natin ang malaking
kakayahan. Halina't
pagtulungan nating tiyakin ang
karapat-dapat na kinabukasan ng ating Inang Bayan.
And to the people
of our good country,
for allowing me to
serve as your President, maraming salamat.
Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!
What is your comment with regards to the SONA of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo?