SONA 2008

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (born 1947) assumed presidency of the Philippines in 2001, after a corruption scandal forced her predecessor, Joseph Estrada, from the post. Her move into Malacanang Palace, the presidential residence, served as a homecoming. Macapagal-Arroyo's father, Diosdado Macapagal, served as president of the Philippines in the 1960s, and Macapagal-Arroyo told reporters she looked forward to sleeping in her old bedroom. The Macapagal-Arroyo presidency has not been without its share of problems. The island nation is plagued by economic depression, the government has been involved in battles with militant rebels, and Macapagal-Arroyo's administration has faced its own charges of impropriety. -www.nytimes.com

PGMA will deliver her 8th State of the Nation Address (SONA) in a facelifted House expedited by Rep. Prospero Nograles in time for his first SONA as Speaker. The SONA 2008 will center on subsidy, electricity, food production and infrastructure according to Sec. Ermita.

The President is expected to arrive by 3:30PM at the Batasan Complex in Quezon City. The President's Ten-Point Agenda are as follows:

1. The creation of six million jobs in six years via more opportunities given to entrepreneurs, tripling of the amount of loans for lending to small and medium enterprises, and the development of one to two million hectares of land for agricultural business;

2. The construction of new buildings, classrooms, provision of desks and chairs and books for students and scholarships to poor families;

3. The balancing of the budget;

4. The "decentralization" of progress around the nation through the use of transportation networks like the roll-on, roll-off and the digital infrastructure;

5. The provision of electricity and water supply to barangays nationwide;

6. The decongestion of Metro Manila by forming new cores of government and housing centers in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao;

7. The development of Clark and Subic as the best international service and logistic centers in the region;

8. The automation of the electoral process;

9. A just end to the peace process; and

10. A fair closure to the divisiveness among the Edsa 1, 2 and 3 forces.