SOMOS and SONA

Whenever a Philippine President delivers the State of the Nation Address, many people listen in often to react, criticize, analyze or to inject their views and opinion and not necessarily to absorb and appreciate the message.

While the President and presidents in the past attempt to paint an optimistic picture or convey a message of hope in SONAs, as all leaders are expected, the majority of Filipinos are mumbling their personal State of Mind or Sorrows or “SOMOS” (the Spanish word for “We Are”).

Whether they are politicians, political analysts, media or pure and simple Filipinos, most citizens will point out the bad and the missing, as well as the “sayang” or missed opportunities in a SONA and compare it to their SOMOS. No matter how good or bad a president is, his or her SONA will undergo amateur analysis, criticism, autopsy and ultimately become fish wrapper in a few days.

You simply can’t please everybody, whether you are president, CEO or media. Last Monday’s SONA was no different. But unlike past SONAs that I watched, PBBM’s third SONA started and ended up being different on a personal level.

As I began making mental notes on the President’s speech, I had an epiphany about my “habitual reaction” to SONAs, which I dare say is reflective of the Filipino collective attitudes towards SONAs. I was once again on “critic mode” just like in all SONAs I’ve listened to.

I don’t know if it’s something that developed during the Martial Law years, years spent at UP Diliman where you’re trained to be a “critical thinker” or being around professionals in media. But for some reason, I along with many Filipinos were listening, not to appreciate but listening in order to react /reply.

But as I listened to PBBM, in my mind, it felt like God was telling me: “Here you have someone who is sharing a positive view about what is going on in your country, what has been accomplished by government and Filipinos and what he as President hopes can be done for the future. The word is ‘Hope’ and the conduct is aspirational. It may not all be there, but he’s trying.”

“You,” referring to me (and several million Filipinos, I presume), on the other hand, are taking mental notes on what you