A Day In The Life Of RJ

The reality of poverty, for most of our brothers and sisters follow them to their death — as is the case with Mang Pandoy — the man showcased in the SONA (State of the Nation Address) by then President Fidel V. Ramos as a representative of the poor whose lives he aims to improve. Many years after that, the man born poor died poor. If you find it too harsh a word, I’m pretty sure there’s a more politically-correct term for that. Underprivileged? Less fortunate? Economically-challenged? Gah. Does it matter how we call it? Apparently, it does not. For if we examine closely, “terms” don’t change a reality. Is there anything more glaring than the reality of your family’s incapacity to even give you a proper burial? My friends, Mang Pandoy lies “clad in a faded violet shirt, laid in an ordinary wooden coffin“. His death is no poorer than the life he lived. The man clearly died “waiting on the world to change” — waiting on his economic status to at least change from bad to fair. He died waiting for a chance at a better life. (more…)

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I do. It’s so ironic when something that happens only ONCE a year can be so tiring to listen to. Tomorrow’s SONA (State of the Nation Address) to be presented (or read–pun intended) by President Arroyo has not even happened yet but as early as now, I already feel a certain level of “exhaustion”. Maybe that’s because I read a lot of news.

Nevertheless, you may say (yes, I know), if you’re really tired of it, then why write more about it? Well, you may have a point there, but that’s how I am with something I find tiring or sickening — I tend to think about it or talk about it pretty much everyday until my brain’s short term memory passes the buck to my long-term memory. (more…)

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Okay, the President’s SONA is due Monday, July 28 — so I’ve heard. I wonder what sort of PowerPoint-style presentation we’ll see this time. I’m not a fan of the President’s SONA (State of the Nation Address) and I have to admit that I’ve seen only quite a few. If you want to know why, that’s because like many Filipinos, I grew tired of watching/listening to SONA’s. And why won’t I be? There are far more reasons not to watch it.

But in light of the crisis we have found ourselves in the midst of, it suddenly dawned on me that there is no better time to watch the SONA than on Monday. (more…)

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