By Regina Elaine Vendivil

With less than 12 months before his term ends, President Rodrigo Duterte has delivered his 6th and last State of the Nation Address (SONA) today, July 26, 2021, at the Batasang Pambansa.

Duterte’s final SONA followed a blended format— part physical and part virtual, due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic for the second straight year. 

The SONA serves as the annual report of the President regarding the current state of the country, the plans and agenda of the government for the coming year or months, and the legislative measures being proposed to the Congress, according to the Official Gazette. 

He started his speech claiming that the SONA held earlier had by far the “most beautiful crowd” before continuing his address to the nation. 

“Today, as I approach the end of my term, I have less visions but more remembrances,” the president said.

Duterte expressed his gratitude towards frontliners, medical workers, private sectors, and local government units (LGUs) for their performance and efforts in the country’s fight against the pandemic.

“Let me assure you that the government is committed to assisting the private sector in regaining the commercial vibrance of the country prior to the pandemic,” he stated. 

He was also seen going off the script to address and denounce the communist and their insurgencies as he claimed that before he took office, our country was “beset with communist insurgency scattered across the nation,” and how the armed forces were “ill-equipped” to deal with external and internal threats.

“This is why I made it a priority to strengthen the institution, boost the morale of the men and women of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police, and all their armed services,” Duterte said. 

Duterte also took the stage to express his support towards the military, police, and troops for protecting our nation against the threats to our democratic institution. 

“The continuous upgrading of our defense capability shall ensure that we shall uphold our territorial integrity and sovereignty from external and security threats among the new additions,’ he stated. 

He also mentioned the country’s war on drugs and its anti-drug operations and claimed that it was like “fighting his own government” after mentioning the PNP generals who participated in the drug business. 

Duterte also tackled sexual abuse in some tribes in the Middle East and how it hurts him to see the Filipinas work there and be mistreated, however, there was no mention in the measures related to gender issues and the welfare of women and children. 

Meanwhile, he mentioned the abundance in the infrastructure projects and their development as well, claiming that five years ago, he made sure to increase the country’s infrastructure spending to 5% of our GDP, which is significantly higher than of the past administrations. 

“We have taken away the misery of public commuting,” Duterte said on the construction of the new MRT and LRT terminals, along with the Metro Manila skyway which “decongested EDSA and other major roads in Metro Manila.”

Moving on to traveling processes, the Philippine Passport’s validity has also been extended to 10 years in order to “lessen the burden” of travelers and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). 

Additionally, according to Duterte, the Office of the President was able to issue 138 executive orders, 43 administrative orders, 86 memorandum circulars, 52 memorandum orders, and 1,038 proclamations since 2016. 

Duterte then goes on with corruption, and how it cannot be stopped by anybody unless the government will be completely overturned. 

He then addressed concerns about China and denied the claims that he was helped by China in being elected president. 

“When the pandemic struck, the first country I called for help was China,” he mentioned later in the speech. 

There were also mentions of the Coconut Farmers Industry Trust Fund Act, Universal Access for Tertiary Education Act in 2017, Universal Healthcare Act in 2019, and the Malasakit Centers Act in 2019.

After more than an hour into his speech, he finally addressed the COVID-19 pandemic, including the funds used for the programs in the fight against the virus, along with the vaccinations and the expected vaccines to arrive in our country.

“The best solution is vaccination,” Duterte said. He also encouraged the officials to receive their doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

He also talked about the highly contagious Delta Variant, saying that, “It seems that it is really dangerous, you have to go back to lockdown… If ever it will spread, we have it here now, I hope it will not go any farther.”

He also tackled the Manila Bay Rehabilitation and how we cannot change the nature of the shores, given that the dolomite has been continuously affected. 

Towards the end of his SONA, Duterte stated that he is hopeful for the Filipinos with the dream of having a “peaceful and prosperous Philippines”. 

“A peaceful and prosperous Philippines is no longer 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,” he said. 

Duterte stated in his speech that in his five years of service, real changes in the governance have been made to the reforms pursued, however, he said that it still needs to be sustained and broadened. 

Duterte concluded his SONA by saying, “I have full confidence that the Filipino spirit will thrive and together, let us rise as a nation.”

Before the start of SONA, it was reported that his speech would last for 59 minutes, free of adlibs, however, the actual address took 2 hours and 46 minutes to finish. 

The whole duration of the SONA 2021 can still be watched on PTV’s YouTube Channel on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVlY9Wv8kAo 

References: 

Rappler. (2021, July 26). LIVE UPDATES: President Duterte’s final State of the Nation Address | SONA 2021. Retrieved from https://www.rappler.com/nation/updates-philippine-president-rodrigo-duterte-state-nation-address-2021

Hi-Lites (2021, July 26) Duterte SONA 2021 Livetweet [Tweets]. Facebook. Retrieved from 

https://twitter.com/HiLitesASHS/status/1419570721492148229?s=20

Photo Source: RTV Malacanang on Youtube