By MIKE ORTEGA LIGALIG

Quake-battered Boholanos have expressed praises for Pres. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino for delivering a “conciliatory, best-so-far, more heartfelt, less combative” State of the Nation Address (SONA) Monday in which,sources said, his message has “regained the trust of the majority of the Filipino people.” “Having heard SONAs over the years, I believe we have a better government these years,” said Liza M. Quirog, head of the provincial government's internal affairs division. “With Aquino's leadership, I observe that there are more accountable officials, more transparency in government operations, reforms in the systems, savings utilized for more projects, and more open to dialogues and reconciliation.” Quirog noted that under Pres. Aquino's presidency, Bohol's poverty incidence dropped six points more, from 36% in 2009 to 30% in 2012. Gov. Edgar M. Chatto, for his part, said that the President has done so much for Bohol's recovery from last year's devastating earthquake and that Aquino's SONA mirrors the president's “caring and compassionate heart.” Former Bohol provincial administrator lawyer Antonio Amora Jr., who was one of the youth frontlines in the first EDSA People Power, described Aquino's SONA as “long in specifics, less-combative and more conciliatory. Still eloquently-delivered but more heartfelt.”

“(It was) descriptive of a man who, more by fate than ambition, has been thrust into the enormous task of leading a difficult-to-be-led nation yet doggedly giving all he has in sincerity - personal flaws and outside brickbats aside,” Amora said of Aquino's SONA.“His best SONA so far.” Saying PNoy's SONA regained the trust of the majority of the Filipino people, lawyer Julius Gregory Delgado observed that the President has “stopped playing a lawyer and became a true statesman.” “He reaffirmed the legacy of his parents as champions of democracy. He did not criticize the Supreme Court but defended the beneficial programs of his administration, which used to be funded by the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), by asking for supplemental budget and clarification of definitions from the legislative branch,” Delgado, a Boholano lawyer based in Manila, told the Bohol Sunday Post.

In his speech, Aquino noted that in last year's earthquake in Central Visayas, Bohol was left the most devastated. And he had praised the Boholanos and their leaders for handling the crisis well. “In the midst of a calamity, we witnessed just what could be achieved when our people come together to respond to the challenges brought by a disaster. For instance, just one week after the earthquake, electricity was restored in Tagbilaran and in all the municipalities of Bohol,” Aquino said in Tagalog. “Now, each of the 25 critical roads and bridges destroyed by the earthquake are passable. 3.583 billion pesos has already been released for the rehabilitation of Bohol and Cebu,” the President said. Quirog, reacting to Aquino's mentioning of Bohol's calamitous experience, said that the Boholanos are grateful to PNoy because of his sincere efforts “to help us rebuild our lives and our province.” “The president reminded us that he became president with the promise of people to help our country. Our leaders are there to help but not to do things for us,” Quirog, who headed Bohol's relief effort operations under the direction of Gov. Edgar M. Chatto, said.

Sammy Cilocilo, a legislative staff from the office of Tagbilaran City Councilor Lucille Yap Lagunay, also told the Post that Aquino fared better than his previous SONAs. “This time he is subtly non-confrontational and conciliatory,” said Cilocilo. “He did not resort to the blaming game. He may not have covered the major issues we want to hear, yet the issues he tackled like the aviation development, TESDA milestone, and national conciliation mediation board report on less labor strike report, among others, are worth celebrating for.” However, there was one concern that was not included in the SONA, according to Delgado.  “The only missing piece in his SONA was for him to certify the Freedom Information Bill as an urgent measure,” Delgado pointed out.