President Gloria Arroyo’s 9th and last State of the nation address

Our Philippine President Gloria Arroyo had delivered her ninth and final state of the nation address at the Batasan Complex. After the triumph on the Constitutional Assembly the rumor of her term extension is now the talk of the town as 2010 approaches if there will be no election next year which results to President Gloria Arroyo’s extension as president. And amid sagging popularity and speculation of possible amendment to the constitution to stop her term.

Opinion polls have indicated the president is running out of steam after nine years in office, with some members of the public suggesting Mrs. Gloria Arroyo does not run for presidency again and it will be her last State of the nation address.

She should promise that she will not again run for office. What can she do if she runs again? If she wins in the upcoming election, the state of our country will be the same. Although we see that she is doing something, it is still not enough, considering her nine years in office.

With barely nine months to go before the presidential elections in 2010, there has been a talk that President Gloria Arroyo's allies would want to amend the constitution to extend her term, something the opposition and militant lawmakers have vowed to block. There's a big difference between her giving assurance that there would be elections in 2010, and saying that there would be elections but I will not be a candidate for any position.

That would be very clear because she has been saying that don't believe the talk about her wanting to extend her term is a pure propaganda, a destabilization effort of the opposition. So she should put a stop to that, answer the question by saying that there will be elections and she will not be a candidate.

President Gloria Arroyo should be working on the budget needed to allocate on the debts of the country, education and health. Also the Arroyo administration should have a framework on how they should solve the issue of unemployment and financial crisis due to global economic recession where Philippines is involve particularly on the export and foreign investment. Business groups said they hope President Gloria Arroyo will put an end to the speculation during her address, as political instability as such keeps away investments.

Said Alberto Lim, executive director of the Makati Business Club: ''It will help bring restore a lot of confidence if there's more political calm. The nervousness stems from her need to hold on to power. So this is what makes the business community very nervous. So her statements to allay these fears will help improve our investments.

Now those investments may not necessarily result in recovery right away because it takes time, but people are staying out, they are watching not only there is economic downturn in the economic cycle but there's also political instability till 2010.

More than just a litany of achievements, President Arroyo would have to clarify once and for all whether she will indeed step down in 2010. With a sagging popularity rating, analysts say this declaration will spell the difference whether she will be accorded a graceful exit when President Gloria Arroyo term expires next year.