The President's ‘courageous conversation’ with the nation

When he delivered his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Bongbong Marcos Jr. made certain bold statements that we did not expect.

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In so doing, the President transformed his SONA into a memorable, courageous conversation with a nation reeling under the effects of recent natural calamities exacerbated by human mistakes.

Given the unexpected courage shown in his words, the President deserved both the thunderous applause after his speech and the renewed respect of his countrymen for the Leader of the Nation.

What made the speech “courageous” were the President’s admissions. He admitted things that leaders made of lesser stuff would not. In his speech, he made bold admissions about three glaring realities: first, that the country is going through a “collective disappointment” brought about by the performance of certain government agencies; second, that the “economic gains” of the country do not mean much in the face of the public’s collective disappointment; and third, that certain agencies and private sector players may have contributed to the national government's failure to meet public expectations.

We say these are bold statements from the President because admissions of this sort are not usual. What is “usual” is for speechwriters to sweep failures and gaps under the rug, or at least sugarcoat them or pass the blame to a real or imagined nemesis.

The President did not.