SONA to feature economic roadmap

President Arroyo has been busy revising her State of the Nation Address (SONA) to be delivered on July 23, even as Malacañang gave a glimpse yesterday of some of the issues to be tackled in the speech that is now on its eighth draft.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said Mrs. Arroyo constantly changes and updates her SONA literally up to the last minute using her laptop that it is almost impossible to give the media advance copies of the speech.

He disclosed that she devotes some time every day to write her speech called “SONA hour.”

“I have not seen the latest revision, probably revision number eight by now, but I believe that in her SONA, the President will talk about her vision of the Philippines as a member of the First World in 20 years, when we will have dramatically reduced poverty, created a robust middle class and have all the hallmarks of a modern society in strong, stable institutions, and what she would like to do in the next three years to contribute to that vision,” Bunye said.

He said the main theme of Mrs. Arroyo’s seventh SONA would likely be on sustaining a strong economy and investing in human capital and physical infrastructure.

He noted that in her SONA last year, she unveiled the super regions infrastructure framework.

“She is expected to give an update on what we have achieved so far and what are the doables this year towards making our country more competitive and therefore more attractive to investors,” Bunye said.

Mrs. Arroyo is also expected to cover reforms and investments in education and social services as well as the subject of waging peace in Mindanao, which should cover not just the fight against terror but also the development initiatives to realize the full potential of Mindanao.

“In sum, the President is expected to show to the nation a path of economic growth, political stability and social justice,” he said.

He said his office is always besieged by reporters for advance copies of the SONA.

Since the speech is usually delivered close to deadline time, or past 4 p.m. at the joint session of Congress, Bunye said he can appreciate why reporters intending to cover the SONA would want to have an advance copy in hand and just check it against delivery.

“As in the past, we are constrained to politely beg off for the simple reason that the speech is still very much in progress. The President herself writes and rewrites it on her laptop computer and the final version is completed only a few minutes before she boards the presidential vehicle on her way to Congress,” Bunye said.

He said the process of writing her speech starts a month before the actual SONA when members of the Cabinet are requested to submit their agency inputs thru Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo, who consolidates the recommendations.

“The information is then uploaded to the laptop of the President, who regularly devotes time every day that Appointments Undersecretary Malou Frostrom calls it the SONA Hour crafting her message to the nation,” he said.

Like an architect talking to a client, Mrs. Arroyo periodically asks a Cabinet member or two to view the work in progress. Then close to SONA time, she practices the speech before the entire Cabinet.

“As in the past, Cabinet members would lobby to include a phrase or a sentence in the draft and later take pride in their authorship when the proposal is included in the final version,” Bunye said.