By now, given the frenzied issuances of the Palace and various government agencies and officials of their “accomplishments” and “advocacies”, we should already have an idea of what P-Noy’s third State of the Nation Address (Sona) will dwell on.
It will definitely highlight once again the regime’s anti-corruption efforts with the usual suspects as main props. It will particularly focus on the removal of Chief Justice Renato Corona on the unsubstantiated, some say invalid, charge of “betrayal of public trust”. He will insist that Corona’s removal from office, the first successful impeachment in Philippine history, is definitely a giant step in fulfilling his administration’s “reason-for-being” mantra daang matuwid-cum-walang mahirap kung walang corrupt. With Corona mercilessly hounded out of the door, he will now suggest that the prosecution of government wrongdoing can proceed will all deliberate speed and woe to whoever will dare stand in the way of this grand operation.
He will, of course, include in this portion the recent filing of plunder charges against former President Arroyo,  former Pagcor Chairman Genuino and several other former top Arroyo administration officials. He will also suggest that other officials including those serving in this administration will definitely get the axe as and when the evidence so warrants. For good measure and to underscore the seriousness of this undertaking, P-Noy will also probably issue a warning to all and sundry, especially members of the judiciary and frontline offices, especially those publicly fingered as graft ridden such as Customs,, BIR, PNP, DPWH, DA, DENR, DILG and even DoTC, among others, to shape out or be shipped out. Maybe there will again be mention of misdeeds and excesses committed by certain agencies and individuals such as last year’s “P1- billion Pagcor coffee payments” and the like.
Then, he will segue to the 6.4-percent growth registered in the first quarter as proof positive that indeed his unrelenting drive against graft and corruption is bearing fruit. He will insist that there is a perceptible change in the public’s mindset about, among others, government and the governed. He will suggest that from hereon we should expect not only sustained but inclusive growth advising that the Philippines is back as a credible investment destination.  He will probably echo newly appointed Neda director general Arsie Balisacan’s latest note about the “lost decade” under GMA and promise that such will never be the country’s fate under his watch.
Among others, he will then proffer the country’s enhanced credit standing and fiscal discipline (but not the $1-billion IMF investment), strides in tourism and agriculture advising, respectively, a banner year for tourist arrivals and progressive decrease in rice importations and enhanced agricultural productivity complete with graphs, to punctuate the positive. He will probably advise as well that after almost two years of under spending in much needed infrastructure the administration will now make up for lost time with more spending and accelerated implementation of major PPP projects. Whether he will also mention the railroading of the “sin tax” in the House of Representatives as another proof of his “political will” remain iffy at this point given the shaky assumptions if not outright deception which accompanied the exercise in the lower chamber.
Against advice from senior government officials such as Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and his self-imposed gag rule on the South China (West Philippine) Sea “stand off,” P- Noy will probably dwell with some length on this issue mentioning in the process the progress attained by the whirlwind diplomacy of Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natelagawa after the failure of the Asean foreign ministers for the first time in 45 years to issue a joint communiqué at the end of their annual meeting in Phnom Pehn.
He will probably repeat his earlier boast that he has actually been circumspect and reasonable with China not belligerent and hard headed as his critics have been saying. He will also probably advise that contrary to the insinuations of some sectors he has cemented even more RP-US relations  and there should no longer be any doubt that we are America’s “main man” this part of the world.
He will probably also mention the reforms now taking place in the ARMM from the cleansing of the voters’ list to proper use of the body’s budget and implementation of various development projects to the absence of large scale armed clashes in the area. Thus, he can suggest that monies which in earlier years were spent for bullets and war equipment are now funding livelihood projects, infrastructure development and expansive social services in the area. He may include a line or two on the progress of the ongoing “peace talks” with the MILF but will probably refrain from even suggesting that a formal peace agreement with the attendant risk of giving in to the front’s demand for a “sub-state,” In the same section he may also decry the bull headedness of the CPP/NPA/NDF leadership for the failure of the ongoing peace talks with them to proceed but will hedge that with advise that the AFP under him will now implement a new internal security plan highlighting peace and development instead of war.
These will probably be the main items in P-Noy’s third Sona today. Unless he will again defy all expectations and meet his critics’ charges and sneers head on. That is possible but not probable. He will not, for one, bring back any discussions on Hacienda Luisita and the government’s mandate to fully implement comprehensive land reform over his term. Even as he has vowed time and again that he will not stand in the way of the SC’s decision to distribute the 4000 plus hectare Hacienda Luisita it may be a stretch to expect P-Noy to go more than that declaration. If ever he will probably reiterate his plea that justice be done not only to the farmers but to the owners of the land as well and bat for a just compensation for the latter.
He will probably be less enthusiastic but will nonetheless mention his other flagship project — 4Ps/conditional cash transfer — which even his close ally, Sen. Frank Drilon, has denounced as ill implemented. He will insist that despite the hiccups the project remains a centerpiece one and any problems will be resolved accordingly.
He will definitely not talk about the latest CoA findings of questionable deals and activities this time involving officials in his administration.
He will not even mention the 2000 lost containers at Customs or the fact that the agency and the BIR have consistently failed to meet their revenue targets. He will also mute any mention if at all of the rash in killings, robberies and other crimes happening nationwide which add to the apprehensions enveloping many communities.
Indeed, there are a lot of concerns which, for whatever reason, P-Noy will not even talk about much less look into. To his credit, P-Noy does not want any surprises and will insist that our people and his keep on suggesting, he did not apply for the job. The people put him there and they should just wait for the results. Not waste time on idle talk or hysterical denunciations. That’s it.