MIRIAM ON THE STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS

Removal or ibagsak are not options. An elementary sense of civilized conduct dictates solemnity when any president delivers the SONA, because it is a constitutionally mandated duty. People are fed up with “the nattering nabobs of negativism.”

What our country needs is constructive criticism, not a political culture of hatred. President Arroyo has only two more years to go, and she is trying to build a legacy. To achieve this, she is working like a perpetual-motion machine, beyond ordinary human endurance. She has no constitutional duty to control global commodity prices.

Politics is a constant war, and in warfare the first casualty is the truth. Do the Arroyo critics have a monopoly of the truth? Under the Rules of Court, President Arroyo is entitled to the presumption that official duty has been regularly performed. If she hasn’t, let’s hear some alternative solutions, not empty calls for destruction.

For me, the highest concern is not the spikes in oil and food prices, but the inflation rate. An Asia-Pacific economist has already warned that inflation is the largest risk to Asian growth since the 1997 financial crisis.

We have to warn the public that interest rates and credit will tighten, in order to control inflation. Unfortunately, these measures will suppress investment and consumption. Hence, there is danger that GNP growth might slow down.

We need President Arroyo, as an economist, to design economic policy that will balance rapid price increases on the one hand, with economic growth on the other hand. That is a very tricky tightrope act. Do her critics have any brilliant ideas?

On PGMA’s alleged unpopularity

Polls are deeply flawed barometers of public opinion. First, there is no guarantee that the respondents are telling the truth, or that they will vote on election day. Second, you cannot compare popularity curves among presidents, because of chronological differences in the global or regional economy, the state of foreign-assisted insurgency, and even the occurrence of natural calamities. Third, popularity is a fickle indicator of leadership. The most reliable indicator is the courage to do what is right.

Some of the greatest world leaders were unpopular during their time. Same difference.

Press Release

18 July 2007

MIRIAM URGES PROPER SC ROLE IN SONA

Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, a constitutional law expert, recommended to Congress that during the SONA ceremonies on Monday, the Supreme Court Chief Justice and associates justices should be invited to walk into the House chamber as part of the ceremonial supporting ensemble for the President.


She also recommended that the justices should be assigned special seats near the front of the session hall of the House of Representatives.

The senator also recommended to Malacañang to name one cabinet member as the designated survivor, in order to provide continuity in the line of succession, if a catastrophe disables the President, Vice-President, and other succeeding officers gathered in the House chamber.

Santiago , citing United States practice, also urged President Arroyo in her speech to use the formula “The State of our Nation is very Strong” or a very similar phrase.

“As a constitutional law scholar, I find nothing in the Constitution to prevent the Chief Justice, after official invitation, to play a more visible role in the SONA protocol. In my view, Supreme Court justices, if properly acknowledged, lend an air of non-congressional celebrity and solemnity to a political event,” Santiago said.

Santiago said that in the U.S. , Supreme Court justices rarely applaud or participate in standing ovations during the speech.

“The justices must remain impartial to any political positions, statements, or objectives during the speech,” she said.

Santiago sent an urgent letter yesterday (July 18) to Senate President Manny Villar and Speaker Jose de Venecia, with copies furnished to Chief Justice Reynato Puno and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

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Breaking News

24 July 2006

MIRIAM ON SONA
All Economy, No Governance

As a lawyer and political scientist, I respectfully submit that the speech is lopsided. First, it is all economy and virtually no governance. Second, its focus is on urban, and hardly on rural areas.

I would have wanted a pronouncement on voice and accountability, political stability, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption. These are the come-ons of foreign investment. The level of direct foreign investment is directly proportional to the quality of governance. To concentrate on the economy without mentioning governance is a skewed order of priorities.

The speech is like a first-time Sona, instead of a midterm Sona. It is a list of promises on large-scale infrastructure projects, but it does not quantify the cost of all these projects. What will be the nature of the funding – foreign or domestic; and public sector or private sector?

I am skeptical, because in the last five years, infrastructure spending as a share of GDP has steadily declined. I do not see any guarantee that this trend can be reversed. The speech provides no motivation for private sector investors to get involved in the provision of public infrastructure. The speech does not mention the NAIA 3 fiasco, and what government will do to resolve it. Insofar as foreign investment is concerned, the festering problem of NAIA 3 is an albatross around the neck, and until it is resolved, direct foreign investment in our country will remain insignificant.

In my humble opinion, government should focus on labor-intensive rural infrastructure, and not on large-scale urban infrastructure.

Number Crunchers on Employment are Misleading

It is true that in 2005, the economy generated 750,000 new jobs, but the number crunchers failed to add that the new jobs were not enough for the one million new entrants to the labor force.

It is true that 750,000 new jobs were generated, but the quality of jobs has deteriorated. More than half of new jobs went to unpaid family workers, mostly in the agricultural sector; and the rest went to the self-employed in the underground economy.

Of the 750,000 new jobs, most are informal employment. This means that the number of those who are formally employed (meaning wage and salary workers) is shrinking.

Further, more than one-third of the employed workers last year were only part-timers.

Don’t Bash Imperial Manila

Why should imperial Manila be an object of opprobrium instead of economic concern? It has its own social and economic problems. Metro Manila has the highest unemployment rate of 15 percent, about twice the national average.

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The Senator in the News

From Inq7.net:

10 Senators Won’t Be at SONA

By Veronica Uy
Posted date: July 24, 2006

TEN senators, including former Senate president Franklin Drilon, will not attend the joint session of Congress where President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will deliver her State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.

Aside from Drilon, the others who will not be at the SONA are Senators Joker Arroyo, Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Panfilo Lacson, Luisa Ejercito Estrada, Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, Alfredo Lim, Sergio Osmeña III, Ana Consuelo Madrigal, and Edgardo Angara.

Osmeña and Angara were also absent at the changing of the guard at the Senate Monday morning, when Drilon handed over the presidency of the chamber to Senator Manuel Villar.

Asked why he was not attending the SONA, Drilon, laughing, said: “Because it’s raining.”

Although aligned with the administration, Arroyo usually does not attend SONAs.

The opposition in the Senate also traditionally shies away from the SONA. Oppositionist Madrigal said she did “not want to listen to the same pack of lies.”

Aside from Villar, those who indicated they will be present at the SONA are Senators Juan Flavier, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Ralph Recto, Manuel “Lito” Lapid, Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, Manuel Roxas II, Rodolfo Biazon, Ramon Magsaysay Jr., Pia Cayetano, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Juan Ponce-Enrile, and Richard Gordon.

At the first Senate session on Monday morning, the Upper Chamber also passed a resolution for SONA attendance.

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