[English] Benigno S. Aquino III, Fourth State of the Nation Address, July 22, 2013

State of the Nation Address
of
His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III
President of the Philippines
To the Congress of the Philippines

[This is an English translation of the SONA delivered at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives, Batasang Pambansa Complex, Quezon City, on July 22, 2013]

Vice President Jejomar Binay; Senate President Franklin M. Drilon; Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.; Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and the eminent Justices of the Supreme Court; former Presidents Fidel Valdez Ramos and Joseph Ejercito Estrada; distinguished members of the diplomatic corps; honorable members of the House of Representatives and of the Senate; our leaders in local government; members of the Cabinet; members of the military and police in uniform; my fellow public servants; and, of course, to my Bosses, the Filipino people, a pleasant afternoon to all.

This is my fourth SONA; only two remain. Almost four years have passed since I was approached by various camps to urge me to run for the presidency. They said: “We know that our country’s problems cannot be solved in the blink of an eye, in one year, or even within the six-year term of a President. But just begin, and we will be one with you in nurturing change.”