“Book, Hammer and the Tongue”

2020 State of the Nation Address

“We need men of integrity and faith like Rizal and del Pilar, men of action like Bonifacio, men of inflexible
patriotism like Mabini. We need their zeal, their self-reliance, their capacity for work, their devotion to service,
and their ability to lose themselves in the common cause of building a nation” – President Ramon Magsaysay

The quote above was the exact words cited by the Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on the 5th State
of the Nation Address on the midst of the Corona Virus Pandemic. As a Filipino citizen and an audience, every
word that the country’s president say weighs a heavy weight in the heart of every Filipino, may they be a patriot
or not. In the 27th Day of July, the progress and achievements of the country were openly stated along with the
additional plans expected to be done by the government for the betterment of the nation. As a citizen, I look up
and expect the best for what the country had done so far and to be done soon. Aside from the good prospect, I
expected words and quote to be used for such speech to address the real state of the nation will be relevant to
the content and reality of situation nowadays, but I stand corrected. I, as a respectable citizen of the country,
will not deny commending the achievements earned by the government for the nation, but, as an open minded
citizen and as one of the subjects of the government, I would like to speak out some points that contradict the
words, values and services expected from the government. Yes, applause to the government’s sweet success but
we are not blind to the reality that the public are being crippled by a government who takes pride of their
measures without considering the capability and resources a subject of the nation can provide and accept.
So far, the government had done successful things for the country such as Salary Standardization Law,
Establishment of National Sports Academy, improvement of country credit rating, Building Projects, Boracay
Rehabilitation, Neutralization of Terrorism and etc., we really do take pride of their success but we can never
deny the inequality and flaws it created that affect the citizens of the country. Pointing out one of the stated
success - Neutralization of Terrorism and Strengthening of Law Enforcement, the armed personnel had been
given an increase in salary with better prospects for better service which really did come in handy for the two
things to have a positive side by side effect. This can be related with the statement of the President:
Iyong dinoble ko ‘yung suweldo ng pulis pati army it was really a clarion call para for them also to have a
decent life and they are able to get the things which ordinarily cannot be reached by any government employee.
Ang akin doon is ‘yung corruption that maybe it might be a vain attempt but maybe dagdagan ang suweldo
para it would be a hedge against corruption.
Now, let us analyze the statement, dagdagan and suweldo para it would be a hedge against corruption, well in
fact in the year 2017, police crimes were numerous, emphasizing, it did not ended there. Up until now, police
crimes still exist, and, along with the new “Anti-Terror Law”, it will create a huge turmoil and multiple
complications. With these two things joined as one, it will deny rights of a Filipino Citizen to equality and
justice. It can provide an unequal and can probably be a false justice in order for the authorities to have and
keep their own interests. All in all, it contradicts to the integrity, patriotism and devotion to service that is
required to build a strong nation as the president had once stated. Another specified point- The success of the
Southeast Asian Games held here in the Philippines, there is no denying that the country had won multiple
awards such Gold, Silver and Bronze but, we cannot also deny the incompetence that the government had
displayed to accommodate our fellow Southeast Asian athletes. With the amount P7.5 billion, the Philippine
Government had failed to provide adequate services that the foreign athletes deserve. It also raises the question
“where did the budget go?”, I don’t see any good statement that can cover a viable reason that can be accepted
properly by the public. In relation to the quote above, once again, it contradicts with the contents and expected
service from the government body. Aside from these two, there are multiple contradictions more that questions
the integrity of the government itself. If people will let this thing slip, Duterte will be another blacksmith that
lifts the hammer to strike a metal that is expected to break.
Aside from his promises, he also said that:
Let me say that the strength of a nation rests in the hands of the people acting as one with government, in the
pursuit of common goals and objectives
How can a nation be strong if the rights of the people are being stripped away from themselves? Perhaps
he meant a monopolized government were the people cannot disobey was the “people” he meant, it will not be a
democracy at all. With those words, he portrayed a false prince, a political figure who plays by the book of
Machiavelli without subtlety. If a nation wants to merge with the people, so must the interest of the people and
their well-being shall come as main priority. We must keep in mind that the people cannot act as one with the
government if the governing body cannot provide the needs and respect its own people. Presenting the recent
issues such as the “Anti-Terror Law” and the “Close down of ABS-CBN”, it simply shows that the government
had stripped away the rights of the people for an honest press and freedom of expression. It certainly displays
that the government tries to control the people, and remind you, you cannot chain the body of democracy in
exchange for the government’s self-interest. As of now, the country is being challenged by the global pandemic,
not just us, but each and every country in the world. First of all, the cases in the Philippines went sky rocket and
stapled us as rank 15 in most Corona Virus Cases in Asia as stated by Worldometers. In relation to the State of
the Nation Address, the president stated that:
I decided to prioritize life over other considerations. According to experts, the interventions that the
government had put in place prevented as much as 1.3 to 3.5 million infections. To me, even if the numbers
were much lower, it would still be and would have been worth the sacrifice[s] we made. “Buhay muna, bago
ang lahat.”
In a matter of fact, cases would have increased and slapped a heavy toll to the nation if the government
did not push the state of “New Normal” to the public. It is understandable that the people need money and food
and so, the commerce must resume (once again it contradicts the: Buhay muna, bago ang lahat”), it is the duty
of the government to provide enough supplies for the people, even for just a straight short period where strict
measures and proper lockdown was imposed. I will not deny that the public failed to do its own duty to follow
the rules but, the government itself made a mistake to let the public through. Due to the fact that both sides
failed, it had taken a toll in the lives of the people, now, if we don’t want to repeat the same mistakes, the
government should not push further the new normal and even to the extent that the country will resume its
tourism and accept foreigners nowadays. Aside from that, corruption in local governments and neat
measurements of Social Amelioration Program distributions had been overlooked where it led to inequality of
services to citizens that badly requires it. Aside from the corruption, incompetence and slight deprivation of
rights to the people, the government failed to provide enough and adequate support to the frontliners, who in
return balances the odd of life and death of people of the nation.
Aside from the disrespect to the rights of the people, more promises had been made. As a citizen, I will
respect the promises they make for what they say “to create a better nation”, but as a Filipino, I am deeply
disappointed of what they imposed so far to the people of the nation. A human tongue has the capability to sway
a person’s perspective and trust but the eye cannot deny the reality to the person who observes. As of State of
the Nation Address, I can say “Yay” for the stated achievements but I cannot praise the government enough
because of the reality that the people nowadays are crippled, hungry, penniless and voiceless. It was not today
that I witnessed the dreamt detailed, honest and successful State of the Nation Address that I as a Filipino
citizen can be proud of.