Earlier today, the 9th State of the Nation Address (SONA) of her Excellency Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo was held at the House of Representatives at the Batasan Complex. PGMA’s 74 minutes speech reports the supposed achievements of her administration over the last nine years of service and raft drafting her plans and goals in her remaining one year in office. It dealt in the area of Economics, Education, Agriculture, Infrastructure, housing, health services and poverty alleviation programs.

PGMA’s final SONA has taken the chance to take the attention of the Pilipino people. She enumerated of her administration one achievement after another. Pointing out that, she was a promising president for the last few years of service. According to her, she was able to give decent lives for most Pilipino people and she was able to uplift the economy despite the constant criticism her government is getting. The creation of millions of jobs, to the construction of bridges, roads, classrooms, the good educational system, the electricity and water, housing centers and the ending the peace process were accordingly achieved by her governance. Shouldn’t we all be thankful to her? It is the president’s side of the story. However, the constant question in the minds of of her critics is, “Will it be her last SONA?” This question is yet to be answered in the coming 2010 national election. However,

The final SONA of PGMA has not just caught the attention of the people but also attracted the militant groups all over the country as well. Their rallies and demonstrations are set to be presented simultaneously with the SONA. Even the politicians themselves, joined the rallies instead of attending SONA. Known critic of PGMA and a crusader of Constituents Assembly or Chacha, Senator Panfilo Lacson even urged his colleagues in the Senate to join the rally. He’s caught saying, “Ako, kung may rally aattend ako , if only to protest actively against con-ass”, in an interview. He also added, “Yes, kung may rally laban sa con-ass, I would encourage the other senators and their staff including media to go there”. Moreover, the opposition that heads their own set of rallies said that the present government has no hope. They added that they are already sick and tired of listening to the Gloria Arroyo’s broken promises. The rallies for SONA because of its widespread in the areas of the National Capital Region (NCR) have caused traffic and chaos. Many were reported being hurt because of confrontations between the law enforcement groups and militants.

The SONA Of PGMA indeed is a very dramatic event in the history of the Philippine Politics. Whether or not it brought hope to the lives of every Pilipino, it’s an important event. It’s the turning point of our choices and goals for the selves and for our country.