While the President made no mention of his plans for Philippine sports, athletes still ended up inspired with the SONA as some of them posted their support during and after the speech.
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Lt. Col. Luzmindo Mamauag Jr. said they are setting up a projector for a live stream of the president’s SONA at the Centcom auditorium.
Filipino activists and supporters for Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte raise their clenched fists as they arrive near the gates of the House of Representative where President Duterte is set to deliver his first state of the nation address in suburban Quezon city, north of Manila, Philippines on Monday July 25, 2016.
“The reservists will be mobilized for information campaign against drug use and the dissemination of information regarding drug rehabilitation programs being offered by the government”, President Duterte noted.
“I don’t want to exaggerate, but the first time I read the speech, it made me cry”, he said.
He also called on his “Muslim brothers” to end “centuries of mistrust and warfare”, saying that “all of us want peace, not the peace of the dead but the peace of the living”.
An ex-user, John Tan, said he started using drugs at 12 years old, but turned his life around four years later.
While first Philippine President Emilio Aguinaldo delivered a speech during the Inaugural Session of the Assembly of Representatives or the Malolos Congress in September 15, 1898, it was not considered a SONA but a congratulatory message to the Assembly.
“People are people, drug dependent or not. In my humble opinion, until we care enough about the suffering and the hurting, drugs will always be around”.
Duterte also remains a popular leader, with 91% approval rating from a recent Pulse survey.
There are also questions surrounding Duterte’s foreign policy agenda, particularly with regards to China. Thousands are still expected to demand more equitable rights for laborers, farmers and indigenous minority groups, but while security will be tight, there will be no barricades blocking the roads to Congress.
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The Palace has reminded legislators, their spouses, and guests not to wear long gowns, but to instead observe business attire in order to downplay the display of opulence criticized as insensitive and immoral by the public.
