Let's hope that was GMA's last SONA!

We watched Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) make her last State of the Nation Address (SONA) despite the nationwide militant protest waged against her making the SONA she was able to do her “swan song”. But due to our usual deadlines, we cannot put here what the President said in the Batasan, but certainly you can read it in the front pages of all the newspapers today. It seems that the militants focused their protest against charter changes.

Watching ANC’s tv review of the previous SONAs, from as early as the year 2004, Pres. Arroyo already talked about charter change (cha-cha) and in almost all her other SONAs. When I interviewed her on our tv show Straight from the Sky she was the only Presidential candidate who had a plan for charter changes, while the rest of the pack tried to sell themselves saying that under their watch, there will be change. So no one can say that GMA only used cha-cha in order to perpetuate herself in power.

Perhaps the closest was during the 2005 SONA at the height of the “Hello Garci” scandal when she almost didn’t make a SONA due to the flurry of protests from all sectors of the country. Somehow, Malacañang was able to rally the Local Government Unit (LGU’s) governors and mayors from all over to show to the nation that while she had become very unpopular in Metro Manila, she still had support from the rest of the provinces. Unfortunately, cha-cha wasn’t given any urgency at all.

Suddenly with less than a year in office, when her term is about to end, talks about cha-cha became louder. Worse, it would be via the immensely unpopular constituent assembly (con-ass). Hence the militant protesters are now focused against the holding of cha-cha via con-ass, which many of us also abhor. We did not vote our congressmen to represent us in changing the constitution, but to create laws that would make this a better nation. The proper way to change our charter is through a constitutional convention (con-con) via a duly elected delegates to the con-con.

If the President truly wants cha-cha and not be suspected of having this political exercise done in order to extend her powers, then she must push for a con-con. If she doesn’t, then all those talks about changing the charter then only had one nefarious purpose - to extend her term. Hence, the President has been boxed in by her own talk about cha-cha.

For sure the President was able to make her SONA despite attempts by the militant protesters to stop her on her tracks. How GMA’s speech will be viewed by the nation, we can read and hear about them tomorrow. But how will history view the Arroyo Presidency, is another story. As President, there is no question that she had many accomplishments, like keeping the economy afloat despite the world financial crisis. Alas, this is overshadowed by the string of scandals that marred her Presidency.

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I have an emailed letter from a reader commenting about the recent French National Day that was celebrated in Cebu. It is self-explanatory.

“For over 200 years the French citizens are commemorating every year their National Day on the 14th of July know as the Bastille Day. For strange reasons, this important event has been celebrated in Cebu on July 24. Can you imagine the celebration of the Philippine National Day another day than June 12, the Spanish National Day other than the 12th of October or the US Independence Day at a different date than July 4? Can you envisage Christmas and New Year festivities at other dates than December 25th and January 1st respectively? The National Day of a country is of prime importance for all its citizens and there is no exception whatesoever for the 14th of July French National Day. Why not commemorate such patriotic event on the official day?

Why weren’t the whole French Community in Cebu not invited to such celebration? Why only few French nationals residing in Cebu were selected to receive the invitation? What is the motivation behind such discrimination?

A large number of French citizens residing in Cebu have been refused the Liberty to attend the celebration of their National Day. Those French citizens have not been treated with Equality thus unable to express their Fraternity to their compatriots and their Filipinos friends attending such event. The French Republic motto “Liberty - Equality - Fraternity” has been ignored at the occasion of the commemoration of the Bastille Day in Cebu. What a pity! What a shame! Obviously, Respect, Etiquette and Protocol are words from the past. Jean Michaut”