Presidential swan songs at a glance

Every President following the 1986 EDSA uprising has made his State of the Nation Address (SONA) preceding a Presidential election a valedictory – a summation of his six-year term, and a declaration of a peaceful transfer of power to whoever is elected by the people as President of the Republic.

Like a lawyer giving his closing argument to a jury, the outgoing President is expected to summarize his accomplishments, reaffirm the vision of his Presidency, and submit his case to the judgment of the people.

Fighting tone

All SONAs of Presidents Corazon Aquino, Fidel Ramos, and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did not deviate from the expected summation of accomplishments: their speeches were peppered with various programs and priority legislation that form part of their administration’s claim to fame.

(Editor’s Note: We are skipping President Joseph Estrada’s administration because he was ousted in January 2001, and was thus unable to finish his term.)

The tone of their valedictories set the standard by which their Presidency shall be remembered. Expectedly, the last SONA is an opportunity for the outgoing President to act ‘presidential’ and ‘stately’.

Installed by People Power in 1986, Aquino confronted various problems and crises left by the dictatorship. On top of these, her fledging administration was rocked by bloody attempts of military take-over, none of which was successful. In her last SONA delivered on 22 July 1991, Aquino defended her decisions made during her Presidency. She also used her last SONA to exhort the next President to further strengthen democracy and the institutions.

On the other hand, Ramos used her last SONA to affirm his administration’s vision of a Philippines 2000, where the country will become one of the newly industrialized countries in Asia. He exhorted the next President to continue his administration’s programs to ensure sustained economic growth.

Macapagal-Arroyo, who was first installed as President following Estrada’ removal, and was subsequently elected in 2004, used her last SONA to lash out at her critics. While she reported her administration’s accomplishments, she also used her speech to defend herself from criticisms

Peaceful transfer of power

Considering, however, the country’s fragile democratic institutions following the fall of the dictatorship in 1986, it is important that an outgoing President assures the people that the Presidency will be peacefully handed over to a successor chosen by the people.

The telling part in every President’s last SONA is this commitment of a peaceful transfer of power. Quoting Aquino’s last SONA delivered on 22 July 1991 –

Someone who will do better may stand in this place next year, for I believe in the inexhaustible giftedness of the Filipino people. I only hope that he will be someone who will sincerely mean you well.

I hope that history will judge me as favorably as our people still regard me, because, as God is my witness, I honestly did the best I could. No more can be asked of any man.

On June 30, 1992, the traditional ceremony of political succession will unfold at the Luneta. The last time it was done that way was in 1965. I shall be there with you to proudly witness the event. This is the glory of democracy, that its most solemn moment should be the peaceful transfer of power.

Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat at paalam.

Here are the last few paragraphs of Ramos’s SONA on 28 July 1997 –

When that graduation day comes, we will have the honor to hand over to our successors, to the 13th President, in my case, and to the Eleventh Congress in yours, a new kind of Philippines that our heroes of our centennial period envisioned – a Philippines that will endure through the new century dawning upon us – a Philippines where our people, under god, can live together in freedom, dignity, and prosperity – at peace with themselves and with all humankind.  

But compare the two speeches to Macapagal-Arroyo’s last SONA delivered on 27 July 2009 –

At the end of this speech I shall step down from this stage, but not from the Presidency. My term does not end until next year. Until then, I will fight for the ordinary Filipino. The nation comes first. There is much to do as head of state – to the very last day.

The two former Presidents made an unequivocal declaration that they will hand over the Presidency to their successors in a peaceful turnover in high-noon of June 30, the Constitutionally-mandated date for the new President’s assumption to office.

Critics claimed, however, that Macapagal-Arroyo was vague in her promise to peacefully hand-over her office in 2010 to her successor. Her critics claimed that her last SONA made vague references to ending her term in 2010, and no reference at all to peacefully handing over power to her successor.

Let the people and history be the judge

The Presidency, like other positions of leadership, is the loneliest place in the world: For every correct thing done by the President, somebody will surely criticize his other decisions.

The challenge to an outgoing President is to admit that a President can only do so much within the boundaries defined by the Constitution. For at the end of the day, it is the people and history itself that will be the judge whether the President deserves emulation, condemnation, or relegation to the dustbins of history.

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