The firebrand former city chief, famed for his public tirades against criminals, has told legislators and their guests to come in simple native or business dress.
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The annual speech used to be a red carpet affair, with lawmakers in their finest Filipiniana shirts and long gowns, but this year’s guests followed Duterte’s issued strict orders to tone the fashion and pageantry down. “We want to centre on the president’s message to our people because it’s his first state of the nation address”.
Renowned film director Brillante Mendoza will direct this event.
Andanar also mentioned that the speech was written by the president himself and it would last for about 38 minutes.
Since then, as stated under the 1935 Constitution, the delivery of a SONA became a constitutional obligation and yearly tradition where president reports on the status of the country, unveils the government’s agenda for the coming year, and proposes to Congress certain legislative measures.
But Duterte also sought to calm the religious sector, saying “there should never be a separation between God and State” even if he is a stickler for the separation of the Church and State.
The tradition of the delivering a SONA in the country started in 1935 when then president Manuel Quezon addressed a special session of the National Assembly on November 25, 1935. “We will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier, and the last pusher have surrendered or been put behind bars or below the ground, if they so wish”, he said, to applause. He will have to rely on party coalitions to get legislation through. “Without the money, his vision for the country will be useless”.
Mr Duterte, who received a 91 per cent trust rating in a Pulse Asia Research Inc.
His May 9 landslide election win was largely based on promises to eliminate crime and implement changes in government, and he’s expected to highlight his achievements so far in these areas, including tough and controversial campaigns to fight crime, illegal drugs and corruption.
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Mr Duterte will probably keep the rhetoric about tensions with China over the disputed South China Sea to a minimum, his spokesman Ernesto Abella said.
