Boycott

After a Jason Castro post, let's shift to a slight serious mode. :D

Since I don’t have a class today and I don’t want to study yet, I decided to just watch the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of the President and see if it is still in-touch with the reality happening in the Philippines right now. The glaring news that greeted me was the “traditional walk-out/boycott” of some congressmen (Read: the term “congressmen” includes senators, district representatives, and party-list reps). I say “traditional” because they do that every year. For some reason, I can empathize with them because I know what it feels like doing something you hate. It’s hard to listen to the talking of a president, who seems to love to lie, and seems to concentrate the wealth of the land on the hands of her relatives and close friends alone. It’s also hard to contain yourself for a few minutes and sit on an adorned place, full of phony people who clap on everything that the President says regardless of whether they understood it or not. Mind you, I’m betting my toenails that more than half of those people are not listening to what PGMA is saying, they just clap on cue.

As much as I understand those congressmen who boycotted the SONA, I also condemn them. As members of the Congress, it is their duty to attend the SONA and listen to what the president has to say. Contrary to what other people might think, SONA is not just about reporting what happened in the past year or about what will be the government’s project on the next year, it’s about laying down the things that the president wanted the Congress to tackle for a whole fiscal year. It’s a hand in hand event between the executive and the legislative branch of our government. The President is not just addressing the people on her speech; she’s mainly addressing the Congress! This is the main reason why it is held in Batasang Pambansa and in a joint session of both the Senate and House of Representatives. Those congressmen who boycott the SONA should reflect on what they usually do. When they decided to do a “walk-out”, they did not just refuse to listen to a liar; they also boycotted a Constitutional provision. Article 7, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution states that “The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session. He may also appear before it at any other time.” If those congressmen don’t know that, I think someone should apprise them.

NOTE: I’m not a fan of the president but I respect her office. No matter how devious the president may look like, no matter how cunning her acts are, I always remind myself that I can get angry at the person, but I should always remember that her seat is the highest seat on the land. Her office should always be respected. It should always be valued. Kumbaga, sige lang, awayin nyo si Gloria hanngat gusto nyo, I might join you pa, pero please lang, respect her office. Hindi uunlad ang bansang Pilipinas kung mawawalan tayo ng tiwala sa gobryernong nagpapatakbo dito at sa batas na gumagabay sa pagsasaayos nito.


Another note: I don't want to comment on the SONA itself. Ayaw ko ding sabihin ang iba ko pang thoughts. Baka mapatapon ako ng Pilipinas. LOL.