President Arroyo’s purported last State of the Nation Address (SONA) was untruthful, said outgoing Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Angel Lagdameo. According to him, the SONA delivered last Monday contained only half-truths since it did not tell the actual situation of the nation.
Her detractors say that the June 2009 Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey on hunger showed that one in every five Filipinos had experienced “involuntary hunger” in the first quarter of the year. This translates to 3.7 million families experiencing hunger, up from 2.9 million in the previous February 2009 survey.
An SWS face-to-face survey in February 2009 also found that adult unemployment rose to 14 million from 11 million in the previous quarter.
Another detractor says that President Arroyo was in a combative mood, lashing at her critics for raising the martial law bogey and that she was determined to stay in her post no matter the cost.
The Facts
The state of the Philippine economy should be the best test on how President Arroyo’s administration has led the country in the past 8 years and in her 9th and last State of the Nation Address (SONA), even her critics have recognize her accomplishments in stirring the local economy to where it is now.
The Philippine economy saw unprecedented average growth rate, multiple increases in investments, largest job creation in history, and lowest total debt as a ratio of the domestic economy. Our economy posted uninterrupted growth for 33 quarters and 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.” The credit upgrade by ratings firm Moody’s Investor Service which was announced last week is proof of the “resilience of our economy.” The country’s economy 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.
The President has said very clearly that she's stepping down next year, but she will continue to govern until the last minute of her presidency. It's so clear.
The verdict
Those detractors are simply like empty cans – all noise, nothing inside. ##
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