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
Talking too fast or too slow? SONA teleprompter operator is drowsy, Duterte says
Some of the bills that President Duterte asked Congress just now to pass – like the modernization of the Bureau of Fire Protection, the creation of a Department of Overseas Filipinos and a Department of Disaster Resilience – are unfinished business from his SONA last year.
“How about the victims on the other side? Bakit hindi ninyo tingnan and see what these criminals have done to our children, to our wives and daughters? May listahan kayo, ang listahan ninyo doon sa namatay. Hindi ba kayo maligaya niyan, walang kriminal?”
Duterte also wants Congress to pass the bill modernizing the Bureau of Fire Protection. The Senate was supposed to ratify this in June, but Sen Frank Drilon saw last-minute insertion that would allow firefighters to carry firearms. | via @maracepedahttps://t.co/dlozdRpPSs
Some of the bills that President Duterte asked Congress just now to pass — fire bureau modernization, creation of departments for OFWs and of disaster resilience — are unfinished business from his SONA last year: | via @miriamgracegohttps://t.co/Rk3FKXkpvc
Duterte's #SONA2021 is now longest SONA ever among post-EDSA Philippine presidents. He's surpassed the late Noynoy Aquino's last SONA which was 2 hours and 15 minutes long.
Duterte: ‘Peaceful, prosperous Philippines within our grasp’
“Desperation is a feeling alien to the resilient Filipino. A peaceful and prosperous Philippines is no longer just a distant dream, but one that is within our grasp, if our future Filipinos would also do it, if they would continue and seize the opportunity to work together.”
Some netizens continue to mock President Duterte for pronouncing “virus” as “vee-rus.”
National Artist for Literature Virgilio S. Almario, who chaired the Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino, had pointed out that “virus” is in fact pronounced as “vee-rus” in Spanish. Listen here.
