President Benigno Aquino III
The
second year of Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III and his third State
of the Nation Address (SONA) are upon us. As usual, it will be the people—of
all persuasions—who will compete with him in reporting the state of the nation
and actually report on him (or his performance). Such is the life of a
president!
How do we judge a president’s performance? Usually, the basis would be this: it is the year’s performance since the last SONA. However, some want to measure his performance against the promises since he became the president. Still, others want to look at his performance vis-a-vis the problems and challenges facing the nation, as perceived by the observer.
Of course, all of them are correct. All of the above are valid criteria depending on the perspective one wants to adopt.
An objective appraisal of the State of the Nation will, more often than not, produce a mix of positive and negative conclusions.
However, there are others who seem to want to use an absolutist frame of reference—either the president is God’s gift to the Filipinos or he is the devil’s own spawn out to bring destruction on the nation. There is also the common pitfall of telescoping the timeframe of both the nation’s problems and their solutions within the present president’s performance thus far until the SONA.
How do we judge a president’s performance? Usually, the basis would be this: it is the year’s performance since the last SONA. However, some want to measure his performance against the promises since he became the president. Still, others want to look at his performance vis-a-vis the problems and challenges facing the nation, as perceived by the observer.
Of course, all of them are correct. All of the above are valid criteria depending on the perspective one wants to adopt.
An objective appraisal of the State of the Nation will, more often than not, produce a mix of positive and negative conclusions.
However, there are others who seem to want to use an absolutist frame of reference—either the president is God’s gift to the Filipinos or he is the devil’s own spawn out to bring destruction on the nation. There is also the common pitfall of telescoping the timeframe of both the nation’s problems and their solutions within the present president’s performance thus far until the SONA.
