PAPER

ON
2015
STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS
OF

PRESIDENT BENIGNO SIMEON C, AQUINO, III

Submitted To
Prof. GLADYS FLORANGEL I. ORTIZ

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

OF GM 205 DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVE

MELODY O. BALICAT
MSERM
December 12, 2015

1.

FIVE (5) ISSUES TAKEN IN THE 2015 STATE OF THE NATION

ADDREES OF PRESIDENT AQUINO.

2015 development
issue (choose 5)
1. Poverty Alleviation

Action proposed

Analysis of action

Pantawid Pamilyang

proposed
The government spent

Pilipino Program (4Ps) or

billions of pesos every

Conditional Cash

year to facilitate and

Transfer (CCT)- catered

materialized this

to marginalized Filipino

program. However, the

family with the intention

government failed to

of the government to

consider that this is not

help those parents or

sustainable for it will

family who cannot afford

make fellow brethren

to send their children to

Filipinos to be dependent

school that belonged to

on the government

elementary and high

instead of teaching them

school levels.

on how to fish. Perhaps,

In the report, the

by providing them means

President did not

of livelihood.

mention that billions of

Our country is rich in

pesos spent by the

natural resources, there

government for this

must be trainings to be

program. The President

afforded to them using

mentioned only the 4.4

local materials and

million Filipinos benefited

develop it into a

the program. This is to

livelihood. Having

evade the criticisms of

permanent livelihood, this

the opposition.

will help increase tax

revenues both local and
national. The family or
parents definitely can
now afford to send their
children in school without
relying on government

assistance. At the same

time, they can answer
the emptiness of their
stomach, the need for
medicine in case of
illness, etc. The billions of
pesos allocated for them
should be translated into
more books, more
classrooms and more
teachers to hire for public
schools, especially to
those far-flung areas in
the country. In 2016
approved budget, 26.7
billion pesos is allocated
for this 4Ps or CCT
development program of
2. Education:

The government really

the government.
It is opined that the

classrooms/text

felt the need to increase

number is not 100%

books/teachers

the number of 118,000

sufficient to address the

classrooms to be

need of tangible objects

constructed, 73.9 million

needed for education,

textbooks already

especially in far-flung

distributed and 88.7

barangays with public

million this year to be

schools, but at least a

distributed, 1.6 million

factor to consider to meet

school seats already

the quality of education

delivered and additional

needed by the young

of 1.6 million to be

Filipinos. Feeling

delivered before the end

equipped with textbooks,

of 2015, and the need of

comfortable seats inside

60,000 new teaching

a classroom and not

positions in 2016 as

under the tree and

integrated in the

teacher who can handle

proposed 2016 Annual

the most 40 students and

budget for the agency.

not 60 to 80 students in a

This development is

classroom.

anchored on the reality

that the population of the
Philippines has
increased into more than
100 million this year. This
transforms into more
enrollees, add to that the
3. Employment

K to 12 Program.
Accordingly, there is an

As reported by the

economic improvement

President, record showed

in the country due to the

that there is indeed a

entry of foreign investors

decrease of

that created more real

unemployment in the

job opportunities.

country. However, the

However, this item as

increase of employment

reported was not

rate has not been felt by

discussed in detail. It is

the most Filipino people

only emphasized that

living in remote and rural

OFWs populations is

areas. Only the big

9.51 million in 2014 and

corporations and

the number went down to

professionals in Metro

9.07. Perhaps because

Manila enjoyed the

of the reason that they

benefit of the said

went home to our

development.

country.

The President
presumptuously stated
that many OFWs went
home and were able to
find job in our country
4

today, because of the

decrease of population of
OFWs working abroad.
However, this is only
presumption and not
conclusive that indeed
those OFWs found job in
our country and opted
not to go back and work
in other foreign country.
Perhaps the truth is that
there is no record that
will show that these
OFWs found a decent job
right now in our country.
The President failed to
4. Infrastructure

Constructed bridge in

support that in his report.

Budget allocated for this

Projects

Isabela, Multi-purpose

project is indeed huge. In

Project in Tarlac,

fact, rehabilitation of

Circumferential Road in

briges and opening of

Basilan, Muntinlupa-

roads are remarkable

Cavite Expressway,

achievement of the

Tarlac-Pangasinan-La

President. Further, the

Union Expressway,

budget for the

Completion of Metro

infrastructure for the next

Manila Skyway and the

fiscal year must be

NLEX-SLEX Connector

higher in order to

Road, Flood control

accommodate those

project in Pasig-Marikina,

areas that really need the

Dike Project in Laguna

construction of bridges,

Lakeshore Expressway

more roads to open for

and the construction of

comfort and accessibility

new road in Apayao.

for better trade and

commerce in many areas

5. Manila Rail Transit

As mentioned, because

of the country.
The DOTC Secretary

(MRT)

of the issuance of

failed to foresee the

Temporary Restraining

problem. They should be

Order, the reason for the

pro-active in overseeing

delay to buy new

the MRT as number one

coaches and at the same

mode of transportation of

time the poor

many Filipinos in the

performance of the

NCR.

service provider in
maintaining the MRT
2.

THE MOST IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT ISSUE THAT OUR

COUNTRY IS FACING IN 2015.
The Manila Railway Transit or MRT as mentioned in the report of the

President garnered the most controversial amongst the issues that considered
as national controversy this year. Considering that each day, there are 2.3
million passengers availing of this mode of transportation. Unfortunately, this
year the negative issue came about when the service provider that is
responsible to maintain it failed to do so. Having poorly maintained the
coaches and all, this eventually leads in the derailment of the daily operation
that affects millions of Filipinos who commute everyday using the said mode
of transportation. Setting aside the traffic congestion in Metro Manila that will
eventually become more congested or has been congested when these
coaches of MRT/LRT and its periodic maintenance always falter or quaver.
The Department of Transportation and Communication under their watch
poorly performed their task to foresee the problem. The government through
this office should be proactive and serious is taking care of the
commuters/passengers, thus maintenance of MRT coaches, engine, machine,
etc. should be of utmost consideration.

3.

TWO DEVELOPMENT ISSUES FROM PRESIDENT AQUINOS STATE

OF THE NATION ADDRESS AND EXPLAIN ON HOW YOU MIGHT
SOLVE IT.
1.) EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
The President reported in his SONA that unemployment rate has been

decreased due to real job opportunities. Unfortunately, his report is more on

the decrease in number as to the population of OFWs. He presumed that
because of the decrease of OFWs, some of them went home to our country
and now working locally. He gave emphasis only to the decrease in number of
OFWs, but he failed to report in detail the actual number of unemployed in
rural and urban areas. Accordingly, our economy continues to grow and we
are now considered as Asias Rising Tiger, etc. This is contradictory from
reality that many of our brethren Filipinos are unemployed. Indeed, the
revenue from OFWs is the main point of the increase of our economy due to
their remittances. Big corporations set up in Metro Manila, employment and it
generated employment only to those nearby. The question is, what about
those graduates and an unemployed inhabitants from different provinces that
composed of different regions in the country? Not all provinces are viable to
set up big malls that will generate employment.
Having this kind of problem in reality, in Regions XI and XIII, it is a fact that
these two regions are rich in mineral resources. This is where mining industry
thrives. Employment, trade and commerce will develop in this area if our
present national leader should give leeway to those mining companies that
are seeking for permits to operate despite all the requirements that have been
complied with. If a mining company will be given a permit to operate, for
instance during its exploration stage, more job opportunities for the locales,
the indigenous peoples in the ancestral domain will be employed. They do not
need to go to the city to beg for money in order to buy for their food. If they
are in their own place, they can work as laborer, or person who will guide the
technical team of the company. Sari-Sari store will be opened to
accommodate the basic needs of the company workers, more Community Tax
Certificate will be secured from the Barangay as primary requirements for
employment among locales, trade and commerce will cause the area to be
7

lively and more developed. Not only the residences but also the local
government for their revenues most likely will increase.
2.) FOREIGN INVESTMENT
The entry of foreign investors in our country indeed has provided a big
leap to our economy. However, the said economic growth only happens in
Metro Manila. Big corporations set up their business investment in urban
areas. This is the reason why some of our countrymen flock to metro manila
and become informal settlers. They are hoping that they can seek
employment in the said place.
The President should also invite investors to mining areas so that these
mining companies will establish their offices in provinces where their mining
tenements are located. With the tedious requirements and very strict
monitoring from Mines and Geosciences Bureau, these investors of mining
companies will be faithful in complying with all requirements especially on
environmental measures, safety nets and all, because they do not want to
waste their billions of pesos investment.
In the context of development, there must be equal opportunity to be
afforded to all foreign investors. Deprivation made by the government for the
issuance of licenses to operate mining is tantamount to deprivation of equal
opportunity to all Filipino stakeholders as individual members of the
community for job opportunity and greater individual freedom. This will also
aid in the eradication of poverty.