her last address.

She sat on the highest seat in the country, she was involved in a handful of scandals, she had a number of impeachment complaints at her doorstep, she, in her past 8 addresses, promised this country a far better situation that it has had, and have worked tirelessly in the midst of vast crowds clamoring her resignation, or did she?

"I have good news for my people and bad news for my critics."

4 pm this afternoon I have tried to my very best to understand the incumbent president's state of the nation address. and goodness, i have grasped at least parts of her long and technical statements. she mentioned, on the whole, her successful endeavors since 2001. things like doubling the number tourists in the country, the benefit given by OFWs to the country, the help given by VAT earnings to seven million people for paying their electric bills, the development of the CARP, the giving of sole titles of pieces of land to the natives in Cordillera region, the development of the agricultural sector of the country, the decreasing of foreign debt, wherein she said, i quote: "Those of the past (I'd say Marcos) have conjured the demon of foreign debt, we (referring to her administration) have exorcised it." she, as usual, left promises to the Filipinos in her speech, one of which is by 2015, every Filipino child in the right age would have to attend primary school, something so far fetched since she herself said a few countries have made this attempt unsuccessful. she also said she and the congress are working on a lot, some of which, as i remember, are the laws to be passed concerning the loss of cellphone load, electric reforms, etc. she even cited people who have benefited from the many programs under her administration, a Badjao, a businesswoman, and a Muslim woman who is the first Muslim to topnotch at the BAR exams. she, at most points of her speech, thanked the Congress for siding with her in the many decisions she have made. i couldnt help but smirk on what she said about, i think, the presidentiables for the 2010 elections, i quote: "Advice to those who want to be president: When you want to do something, do it hard, do it well. Don't pussyfoot. Don't pander and say bad words in public." the audience gave a deafening applause with mixed laughs and signs of approval upon hearing the statement.

well, it has been another SONA, full of POSITIVE things, the president, as usual, bragging her long list of achievements. somehow, in the middle of watching the telecast of the address, i felt sorry for Mrs. Arroyo, there she was, in the file videos, flying to different countries, signing MOAs and forging alliances, opening several branches of "Botika ng Bayan" drugstores, handing financial assistance to several Filipinos, but outside the walls of the House of Representatives, several citizens, who think they'd become heroes of the moment for speaking out and opposing Arroyo's administration, were marching at large in streets to proclaim their widespread and unending hatred for the one person who should and the only who could be blamed, the President.

therefore, from now on, the President of the Republic of the Philippines has 4 jobs: Chief Executive, Chief Legislative, Chief Judiciary and the person-to-be-blamed-if-something-goes-wrong-in-our-oh-so-progressive-country, the last job being the only he could never pass to anyone, the only he could never ask assistance to be solved, the only job he could never turn back from, because he knows, when he does, he'd have to carry a thousand more responsibilities from the race of the free peoples of the pearl of the orient.

cheers to you, Mrs. Arroyo, and cheers to the many more Presidents who'd have to carry more than 90 million lives on their fragile backs, instantly required to be highly robust and invulnerable to shame and hurt from the outspoken Filipino.