Economists weigh in on Noynoy Aquino's July 25, 2011 SONA while Malacañang defends it

Celebrity economist Winnie Monsod and Ibon Foundation chief researcher Sonny Africa itemised flawed analyses in the recent State of the Nation Address delivered by President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III in a GMA News Online report, highlighting many instances of figures taken "out of context". Most of these instances involved using numbers selectively and neglecting to cite the nuances of these numbers. An example cited by Africa involved how the 1.4 million jobs created (presumably under his watch) were, in reality "more than offset" by the labour force increasing by 1.2 million people.

Ultimately what mattered the most to the ordinary Filipino (considering the whole point of Aquino's use of the Tagalog dialect to deliver the message to the masses more effectively), was missing from the SONA...

"Wala namang direktang kaugnayan ‘yon sa issue ng mga karaniwang mamamayan — trabaho, pagkain," Africa said.

[Translation: "None of this have a direct relevance to the ordinary Filipino whose concerns don't go beyond jobs and food"]

Yet, earlier, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda defended the SONA saying that all these figures were "verifiable"...

Aquino had a lot more important things to say than bash former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her allies, [Lacierda] said, noting the figures Aquino cited in his speech SONA were verifiable.

“We will prove to the naysayers that this administration is going to change society, is going improve the lives of the people, and we are going to deliver on our promises," he added.

Lacierda also dismissed critics who noted that all of what Aquino said in the SONA were "motherhood statements" and that such criticism were all "rehashes" themselves of past criticism.