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...So Help Us God: The Presidents of the Philippines and Their Inaugural Addresses
Part oratory, part public policy and part history, this book tells the story of the fourteen men and women who ascended to the nation's highest public office. It reintroduces to contemporary readers the presidents of the Philippines - from Emilio Aguinaldo to Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo - providing essential information and insights about their challenges and achievements that enable us to survey the past in a manner that makes sense of the present, and help us plan better for the future.
...So Help Us God puts us in direct contact with the original speeches delivered at the presidential inaugurals and illustrates the power of spoken word in the life of our nation.
...So Help Us God puts us in direct contact with the original speeches delivered at the presidential inaugurals and illustrates the power of spoken word in the life of our nation.
351 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 25, 2013
"Wisdom without eloquence does little for the good of the states, but eloquence without wisdom is generally highly disadvantageous and is never useful." - Marcus Cicero
A good speech inspires, moves, and informs. And one of the most important speeches is the inaugural address of a nation's leader.
"So Help Us God" has all the inaugural addresses of the Philippines' 14 Presidents at the time of the book's publication (2004). And not just the speeches, but also a concise but informative profile of each President and vital statistics of the country for each President's term.
From the pride of the First Philippine Republic in 1899 under Emilio Aguinaldo, to the cautious but conscientious Jose Laurel doing his best to mitigate the effects of the brutal Japanese Occupation; to the joy, relief, and guarded optimism of Sergio Osmena after Liberation and victory against Japan; to the exhilaration of recognition of independence and the building of a new nation from Roxas to Macapagal; to the dark years of Martial Law, to the restoration of democracy in 1986, the sagacity and discipline of Ramos, the populism of Estrada, and the technocrat in Macapagal-Arroyo; the speeches should be scrutinized and taken with a grain of salt, to ponder on the words and the actions to back them.
If BS Aquino's inaugural address were ever to be included in a later edition of this book, his words and actions would vastly pale in comparison to most of his predecessors. But that's the thing; with BS Aquino, lower your expectations.
A good speech inspires, moves, and informs. And one of the most important speeches is the inaugural address of a nation's leader.
"So Help Us God" has all the inaugural addresses of the Philippines' 14 Presidents at the time of the book's publication (2004). And not just the speeches, but also a concise but informative profile of each President and vital statistics of the country for each President's term.
From the pride of the First Philippine Republic in 1899 under Emilio Aguinaldo, to the cautious but conscientious Jose Laurel doing his best to mitigate the effects of the brutal Japanese Occupation; to the joy, relief, and guarded optimism of Sergio Osmena after Liberation and victory against Japan; to the exhilaration of recognition of independence and the building of a new nation from Roxas to Macapagal; to the dark years of Martial Law, to the restoration of democracy in 1986, the sagacity and discipline of Ramos, the populism of Estrada, and the technocrat in Macapagal-Arroyo; the speeches should be scrutinized and taken with a grain of salt, to ponder on the words and the actions to back them.
If BS Aquino's inaugural address were ever to be included in a later edition of this book, his words and actions would vastly pale in comparison to most of his predecessors. But that's the thing; with BS Aquino, lower your expectations.
January 3, 2013
A nice compilation of inaugural addresses of Philippine presidents, with accompanying history and background for each one. Actually, I read more of the introductions than that of the actual speeches.
Some speeches were strong, some were blunt, some were straightforward, some were profound. The inaugurals give the readers a sneak peek on how President-elects intend to run the country for the duration of their term. And we get the chance to see whether or not they were men and women of their word.
My personal favorites are Marcos' 1969 inaugural, Laurel's 1943 inaugural (minus the not-so-feminist part), and Ramos' 1992 inaugural.
Some speeches were strong, some were blunt, some were straightforward, some were profound. The inaugurals give the readers a sneak peek on how President-elects intend to run the country for the duration of their term. And we get the chance to see whether or not they were men and women of their word.
My personal favorites are Marcos' 1969 inaugural, Laurel's 1943 inaugural (minus the not-so-feminist part), and Ramos' 1992 inaugural.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews