I want to share the some lines in Pres. Arroyo's SONA 2009.
She's very confident in delivering her message. Just comment for this line.. hehe... thanks...
As I Observed to her speech, she's much thankful in the congress, maybe because as we can see 80% of the senators are her critics.
"At the end of this speech I shall step down from this stage…
but not from the Presidency.
My term does not end until next year.
Until then, I will fight for the ordinary Filipino.
The nation comes first.
There is much to do as head of state—to the very last day..."
"A few days ago, Moody’s has just announced the upgrade of our credit rating, citing the resilience of our economy. The state of our nation is a strong economy. Good news for our people, bad news for our critics…"
"I did not become President to be popular. To work, to lead, to protect and preserve our country, our people, that is why I became President. When my father left the Presidency, we were second to Japan. I want our Republic to be ready for the first world in 20 years…"
"Had we listened to the critics of those policies, had we not braced ourselves for the crisis that came, had we taken the easy road much preferred by politicians eyeing elections, this country would be flat on its back. It would take twice the effort just to get it back again on its feet—to where we are now because we took the responsibility and paid the political price of doing the right thing. For standing with me and doing the right thing, thank you, Congress…"
"Some say that after this SONA, it will be all politics. Sorry, but there’s more work…."
"Nakinabang ang pitong milyong entrepreneurs sa P165 billion na microfinance. Nakinabang ang 1,000 sa economic resiliency plan. Kasama natin ngayon ang isa sa kanila, si Gigi Gabiola. Dating household service worker sa Dubai, ngayon siya ay nagtatrabaho sa DOLE. Good luck, Gigi…"
"Our efforts prodded the pharmaceutical companies to come up with low-cost generics and brands like RiteMed. I supported the tough version of the House of the Cheaper Medicine Law. I supported it over the weak version of my critics. The result: the drug companies volunteered to bring down drug prices, slashing by half the prices of 16 drugs. Thank you, Congressman Cua, Alvarez, Biron and Locsin…."
"To those who want to be President, this advice: If you want something done, do it hard, do it well. Don’t pussyfoot, don't ponder and don’t say bad words in public."
"Namana natin ang pinakamatagal ng rebelyon ng Komunista sa buong mundo.We inherited an age-old conflict in Mindanao, exacerbated by a politically popular but near-sighted policy of massive retaliation. This only provoked the other side to continue the war… In these two internal conflicts, ang tanong ay hindi, “Sino ang mananalo?” kundi, bakit ba kailangang mag-away ang kapwa Pilipino tungkol sa mga isyu na alam ng dalawang panig over issues na malulutas naman sa paraang demokratiko."
"Real government is about looking beyond the vested to the national interest, setting up the necessary conditions to enable the next, more enabled and more empowered generation to achieve a country as prosperous, a people as content, as ours deserve to be…."
"The noisiest critics of constitutional reform tirelessly and shamelessly attempted Cha-Cha when they thought they could take advantage of a shift in the form of government. Now that they feel they cannot benefit from it, they oppose it."
"As the process of fundamental political reform begins, let us address the highest exercise of democracy…voting! In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress…"
"A man-made calamity is already upon us, global in scale. As I said earlier, so far we have been spared its worst effects but we cannot be complacent. We only know that we have generated more resources on which to draw, and thereby created options we could take. Thank God we did not let our critics stop us…"
"As the campaign unfolds and the candidates take to the airwaves, I ask them to talk more about how they will build up the nation rather than tear down their opponents. Our candidates must understand the complexities of our government and what it takes to move the country forward. Give the electorate real choices and not just sweet talk…"
"Meanwhile, I will keep a steady hand on the tiller, keeping the ship of state away from the shallows some prefer, and steering it straight on the course I set in 2001…"
"However much a President wishes it, a national problem cannot be knocked out with a single punch. A President must work with the problem as much as against it, and turn it into a solution if I can…"
"There isn’t a day I do not work at my job or a waking moment when I do not think through a work-related problem. Even my critics cannot begrudge the long hours I put in. Our people deserve-a-government that works just as hard as they do…"
"A President must be on the job 24/7, ready for any contingency, any crisis, anywhere, anytime…"
"Everything right can be undone by even a single wrong. Every step forward must be taken in the teeth of political pressures and economic constraints that could push you two steps back-if-you flinch and falter.. I have not flinched, I have not faltered. Hindi ako umaatras sa hamon…"
"And I have never done any of the things that have scared my worst critics so much. They are frightened by their own shadows…"
"In the face of attempted coups, I issued emergency proclamations just in case. But I was able to resolve these military crises with the ordinary powers of my office. My critics call it dictatorship. I call it determination… We know it as strong government…"
"But I never declared martial law, though they are running scared as if I did. In truth, what they are really afraid of is their weakness in the face of this self-imagined threat…"
"I say to them: do not tell us what we all know, that democracy can be threatened. Tell us what you will do when it is attacked…"
"I know what to do:"
"I know what to do, as I have shown, I will defend democracy with arms when it is threatened by violence; with firmness when it is weakened by division; with law and order where it is subverted by anarchy; and always, I will try to sustain it by wise policies of economic progress, so that a democracy means not just an empty liberty but a full life for all…"
"I never expressed the desire to extend myself beyond my term. Many of those who accuse me of it tried to cling like nails to their posts…"
"I am accused of misgovernance. Many of those who accuse me of it left me the problem of their misgovernance to solve. And we did it…"
"I am falsely accused, without proof, of using my office for personal profit. Many of those who accuse me of it have lifestyles and spending habits that make them walking proofs of that crime…"
"We can read their frustrations. They had the chance to serve this good country and they blew it by serving themselves…"
"Those who live in glass houses should cast no stones. Those who should be in jail should not threaten it, especially if they have been there…"
"Today the Philippines is weathering well the storm that is raging around the world. It is growing stronger with the challenge. When the weather clears, as it will, there is no telling how much farther forward it can go. Believe in it. I believe…"
"We can and we must-march-forward-with-hope, optimism and determination."
"We must come together, work together and walk together toward the future."