#ThrowbackSeries: SONA 2013 Paper

So today for our Throwback Series, I will be showing you the paper I wrote to review and summarize the SONA 2013 by our President Benigno Aquino III. This paper was part of my 3rd Year Portfolio

SONA 2013- President Benigno Aquino III’s 4^th State of the Nation Address: Pagtahak sa Tuwid na Daan

Submitted to Teacher Rose Operaña

Submitted by Riona Operaña

July 25, 2013

SONA 2013- President Benigno Aquino lll’s 4^th State of the Nation Address: Pagtahak sa Tuwid na Daan

Statement of Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review this year’s State of the Nation Address of President Benigno Aquino lll

               I.            Highlight of SONA

A.      Government and the nation’s actions

B.      Nationalism

             II.            Good news presented

A.      Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program

B.      Phil Health

           III.            Promising Facts and Figures

A.      Tourism

B.      Education

C.      Agriculture

           IV.            Observations of president and the audience

             V.            Positive or negative outlook

SONA 2013- President Benigno Aquino lll’s 4^th State of the Nation Address: Pagtahak sa Tuwid na Daan

     I love how PNoy stated the fact that even if the government is doing everything they can, to fix the complaints and problems of our country, if we ourselves would not step-up to make a difference in this country, nothing will change. He also highlighted the nationalism that was shown through three simple police officers and that we Filipinos should see them as an example on helping Philippines to straighten up and bloom.

There were indeed a lot of good news and also some bad news that PNoy stated in his so far longest SONA speech. He tackled issues in the areas of tourism, education, employment, agriculture, security (soldiers), and achievements.

·         One of the ‘to-do lists’ of the government that was done was to broaden the scope of “Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4p’s)”. About 4 million beneficiaries were enrolled so far during the three years of President Benigno’s administration.

·         Another good news was the rise of beneficiaries of PhilHealth from 2010-2013. From 68% beneficiaries on the year 2010, we now have 81% of the population enrolled in PhilHealth, which is about 85,633,200 beneficiaries.

Some other achievements that were shown were in the areas of tourism, education, and agriculture.

·         In tourism, PNoy stated some praises such as “Best romantic destination” and such from various magazines such as Scuba Diving, Travel + Leisure, Shanghai Morning Post, and Oriental Morning Post. We were able to pass the 2016 target of 35.5m tourist arrivals on the year 2011 in which we reached 37.5m tourists. We now have a new 2016 target which is to have 56.1m tourist arrivals.

·         In education, the governments is still on the progress of building 66,800 classrooms, providing 2,573,212 chairs, and obliterate the 61.7m textbook backlog and achieve the ratio of 1:1 to students.

·         We have 5,500 hectares in 90 various places in this country for 10,000 farmers to use for intercropping. When we plant coconuts per hectare we can earn 20,000php, but through coconut intercropping we can produce and earn more. If we are to plant coconuts and coffee on a hectare every year, we can earn 172,000php, with bananas we can earn 102,325php, and with cacao 89,00php.

The reporters mentioned that SONA is like the Oscars here in the Philippines because not only is the content of the message is awaited, but also the colorful gowns worn by the congresswomen, senators, and spouses of the government officials.  By wearing these colorful Filipiniana gowns in the SONA, I personally think that the SONA became more colorful and more uplifted in a the eyes of our generation today since most of us, teenagers, think that SONA is just another long, boring speech of the president to the country.

I also liked the improvement of PNoy from using powerpoint to video playback. The government should try to attract our generation today on listening the SONA through connecting to us through our language and tastes.

I also think that schools need to show students as young as they are that SONA is a speech in which the president of a country states the achievements, issues solved, and the summary of events that happened to our country every year; and that SONA is there to remind us of what’s happening with the country and what the government is doing to improve the country.

As PNoy highlighted nationalism even on ordinary citizens, he made a positive, encouraging, yet strong reminder to us Filipinos that our actions as individuals will depend on how this country will improve. I also love how he ended that this SONA is our SONA; for me it means that the content of the SONA will depend on us, the citizens, on how we live in this country. President Benigno Aquino’s speech was also sandwiched and he showed the balance of a leader on giving love and just to his country.

Labels, labels, LABELS EVERYWHERE. (Updated)

Nope. I'm not going to talk about anything "DEEP" regarding labels; I'm going to talk about the labels of my posts there on the right side of this blog so you can understand and maximize it.

#ThrowbackSeries

This label is for posts that I have from my old blogs. This may also include my posts regarding Leadership Conferences and unfinished posts in the past.

Acuminous Experiences

"Acuminous-insightful", so as the label title says, this label includes my day-to-day insightful experiences. 

Amorina's Pages

Back in my transitioning years from 6th grade to 1st-year highschool (or Grade 7), I decided on entitling my portfolio series for 1st-3rd year as Amorina's Pages. You can find most of my homeschool portfolios here.

Book Reviews

I really haven't seriously started filling this labels with posts relating to book reviews, but I'm working on it. I'll be reviewing fictional and non-fictional books (non-fictional including Christian books).

Color Quotes

I mentioned this title in my post entitled, "Motion Before Emotion" and this is actually a recent project of mine. I have this colorful pad where I put quotes that speak to me and I use those quotes as a prompt to write a weekly blog article regarding it. This label is a sub-label of the Acuminous Experiences label.

Portfolio

In here, shows ALL of my portfolios in the past, present, and future. This includes academe and creative portfolios.

Simple Joys In Life

I guess the posts under this label is to remind me and remind you, readers, that there are simple things in life that you can enjoy. The most random yet lovable (for me) posts that show the simple me are in this label. I guess I should start writing a post regarding labels since it gives me joy to use such a tool for organizing.

Story Nuggets.
Sometimes I post my written works which is woven with life nuggets. All of those short stories and poems is under this label.

Attributes of God.
New blog series! (And I haven't finished my Color Quotes series yet. Aha ha)Based on A.W. Tozer's, "Attributes of God". I'll be digesting that book and intertwine it with my Acuminous Experiences label

How To.
DIY and instructions on "How To" do stuff goes under this label.

I might add more specific labels to help you screen the posts that I post, but that's what I have for now.

Have fun and go and maximize the use of labels.

Motion Before Emotion

Photo source from sisteeeeer. Go to beeyenbi.tumblr.com

“Motion before emotion.”--Pastor Peter Tan-chi

This phrase is something that called my attention from my lazy ways in doing things. If I am to do a chore or a regular task, I usually frown and tell my dad (who is the one who assigns the chores to my sister and I) or myself that I do not FEEL like doing the task at the moment so I will do it later.

I Will Do It Later Habit

This attitude is what we usually call, procrastination. Yes, our color quote for the day is regarding procrastination.

Procrastination (proh-kras-tuh-ney-shuh n, pruh‐): to be slow or late about doing something that should be done.

---Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Procrastination is setting aside something that YOU SHOULD BE DOING for something that isn’t your priority. The thing is, if we keep on waiting for us to feel like doing something, then we will be wasting the precious time that God has graciously given us! If we aren’t conscious enough to nip this budding attitude immediately, it will sooner become a habit. And remember, a bad habit becomes a handicap in the race.

Digging Deeper

In the last post I wrote, I mentioned something about not worrying about the unknown future; yes we shouldn’t worry about the future because God has an amazing plan for us, but this doesn’t mean that we can just laze around and do nothing. We need to do our part in preparing ourselves in God’s great plan.  As people say, we need to get the right person for the right job; in the same way, we need to prepare ourselves to be the vessel that God will use for His great plan.We need to be ready for the job He will give to us. And if we want to be a finished vase ready to be used for God’s work, then we need to be diligent in letting ourselves be molded into a finished vase!

So what is the root of procrastination? It is when you are not able to set your priorities right and fail to do your priorities.

Learning Nugget

Pause for a moment and ask yourself, “What are my priorities? Are my priorities set right? Are my priorities something God will be pleased with?  Am I really treating my priorities as priorities? If I know my priorities, then why do I procrastinate?” As you answer these questions, try and dig the learning nuggets you can get from it. Figure out by yourself what you think is the learning nugget for you here.

Life Nugget

Our life nugget is found in these two verses:

Colossians 3:17;23-24 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Don't wait for yourself to "FEEL" like doing your priorities.

Don't Let Your Mind Bully Your Body

"Don't let your mind bully your body..."-Astrid Alauda

This is a quote in a picture that I saw while I was searching for a desktop wallpaper. (Apparently I've deleted the picture so I got another picture from Google instead.)The choice of words and the meaning of the statement rang a bell in my ear for it was something that I, and most people especially women, can relate to.

Digging Deeper

Digging deeper into this statement, I was able to see 2 perspectives in this, 1 is general and one is spiritual. 

1. We overthink or keep our minds busy and occupied with things, or life in general, and forget how this can drain our body.

2. We let our thoughts be influenced by the world which affects our actions, resulting in us bullying our body, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Let's go and dig deeper in both perspectives until we mine the learning nuggets.

Overthinking

I think (pun not intended...maybe)that most people (especially perfectionists) overthink every day. We tend to overthink because we are not satisfied with the current knowledge that we have regarding a situation or matter. And so, we dive into endless branches of possibilities and try to find the "perfect solution or decision" or the "most reasonable outcome of a matter", only to find ourselves frustrated when we reach the tip of the branch. We don't just stop with a dead-end though, we continue on and dig holes just to find that golden apple that we think will satisfy us. If you want to know how you can stop overthinking, let me throw this question to you, "Why do you overthink ?"

You know what the answer is? It's because we worry that if we don't find the perfect solution/decision/possibility, we will make a mistake that won't be erased and will haunt us for the rest of our lives. So to put it simply, we overthink because we worry or fear of the unknown future before us. Well if you want to pull the roots of overthinking, you need to also pull the roots of worrying. So I shall ask you another question, "Why do you worry or fear?"

Do Not Worry (Matthew 6:25-34-NIV)

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

If you know that you have God who will supply your needs; if you know that you have God who will take care of you; and if you know that you have God that has great and wonderful plans for you to prosper (Read Jeremiah 29:1), then why worry and fear about life?

Temple of the Holy Spirit

Our thoughts are influenced by what we see, hear, and feel; our thoughts affects our actions. So if what we see, hear, and feel are that of the world, then our thoughts will be that of the world too. And if thoughts affect our actions, then our worldly thoughts will turn our actions into that of the world.

Let me give you a specific example so you can get what I mean. A distorted view of beauty may lead to insecurity. A distorted product of a distorted view gives birth to distorted actions. Anorexia and bullimia are 2 disorders that must not be romanticized. It is a product of insecurity, which is a product of a distorted view on beauty. 

When the world says that you are ugly, God says that you are beautiful. When the world says that beauty is when you have a slim, tall, sharp, and curvy body; God says that TRUE BEAUTY is when you are loving, joyful, patient, kind, and gentle. You are who you are. You are FEARFULLY and WONDERFULLY MADE by GOD.(Read Psalm 139:14).

The learning nugget that we can get from this perspective is in this 1 Corinthians 6:19

18 Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

Life Nugget

After getting the learning nuggets in both perspectives, I want to remind you of the life nugget that we must hold dear to our hearts and apply in our lives. It is found in

Philippians 4:8New International Version (NIV)

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

So will you let your mind bully your body?