Less than 12 months before he steps down from office, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is set to deliver his sixth and final State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 26.
Duterte’s SONA 2021, his annual speech for both houses of Congress, is taking place at the Batasang Pambansa at 4 pm (Manila time) on Monday. Set to be attended by members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the SONA is following a hybrid format – part physical and part virtual – for the second straight year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
What is the SONA? According to the Official Gazette, its purpose and significance is to allow the President to report on the state of the Philippines, to push forward the government’s agenda for the coming year, and to propose legislative measures to Congress.
The SONA is required by the 1987 Constitution, which states under Article VII, Section 23, “The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session.”
What will Duterte tell the Philippines as he starts his final year?
Bookmark and refresh this live blog for blow-by-blow updates, including the livestream of the speech itself, text and video reports, the full text of Duterte’s address, a quick point-by-point summary, and opinions and analyses by our reporters and editors, as well as our panelists.
LATEST UPDATES
Duterte boasts about going vs water concessionaires
President Rodrigo Duterte once again refused to confront China’s aggressive encroachments in the West Philippine Sea as he rehashed defeatist arguments during his final State of the Nation Address.
Duterte mentioned raising the Philippines’ 2016 arbitral award “clearly and in no uncertain terms” at the United Nations, as well as in bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping, but once again told Filipinos: “How can we fight China? Do we have the weapons, do we have everything?” Read the full story here.
