President Dutertes 1st SONA

Manila, Philippines - President Rodrigo R. Duterte delivered his first State of

the Nation Address (SONA) at Batasang Pambansa, Monday, July 25th. All
eyes were on him as he made his long anticipated speech. Like his Inaugural
Address in Malacanang, June 30th, his SONA was simple and straight to the
point. We cannot move forward if we allow the past to pull us back,
President Duterte said after greeting the Executive Secretary Salvador
Medialdea, the members of the Cabinet, his fellow workers in government,
and his countrymen. During his speech, he reiterated his commitment in the
fight against criminality, illegal drugs, and corruption. To our police officers
and other officials, do your job and you will have the unwavering support of
the Office of the President, he said to which he was applauded for. Abuse
your authority, and there will be a hell to pay, for you will have become
worse than criminality itself, he added as a warning. President Duterte also
addressed the unpleasant fact that Philippines continues to be confronted
with internal security threats aggravated by the existence and activities of
the terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. As a solution, the full force of the AFP will be
applied to crush these criminals who operate the guise of religious fervor. All
throughout The Presidents speech, numerous issues were tackled and
numerous promises were made such as faster internet and connectivity, the
campaign on federalism, the implementation of freedom of information, the
OFW welfare, the increase of number of residential treatment and
rehabilitation facilities in all regions of the country and many more. Despite
of the formality of the event, he was still able to make jokes in some portion
of his speech which generated laughter amongst the audience. It is evident
in President Dutertes ad-libs that he truly speaks from the heart