President Rodrigo Duterte will deliver today his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA), his penultimate before stepping down in 2022.
Let’s look back at his previous SONAS, particularly the highlights.
Some of the recurring issues Pres. Duterte tackled were the war on drugs, Mindanao peace and order, red tape/corruption, tax reform, and health care
These five issues or topics are staples in previous state of the nation addresses, indicating these are constant priorities for him.
In every SONA, he maintained that the crackdown on illegal drugs will be “relentless,” even saying that his priority is human life over human rights.
Mindanao was a consistent peg on varying issues: In 2016, he used his SONA to push for the passage of a Bangsamoro law. In 2017, he defended his decision to declare martial law in the region after the Marawi siege.
In 2018, he promised more funding for Mindanao projects and vowed to sign the Bangsamoro Organic Law. In 2019, the President tells the Bangsamoro government to fast-track the development of the region and improve the quality of life of Muslims and indigenous peoples.
Red tape is a fixture, too. In his first SONA in 2016, he said he did not want to see people lining up in government offices. In the second one (2017), he called on Congress to amend procurement laws that he finds tedious. In his 3rd SONA (2018), he issued a warning to agencies with the most red-tape-related complaints from citizens.
In the fourth (2019) SONA, he said the ultimate goal “is for our people to be freed from using these hotlines because government service and response have markedly improved.” He told the Land Transportation Office, Social Security System, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Land Registration Authority, and Pag-IBIG to improve their services as data from the complaint center under his office show they were the subject of many complaints. He wants processing of permits to last only 3 days.
He also hailed the passage of the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act, a significant piece of legislation to improve service delivery and fight corruption.
Tax reform is also always in his SONA. In his first two, he used his speech to urge lawmakers to pass the first tax reform bill. In his 3rd SONA, he was defending why the tax reform law, now enacted, should not be repealed. He then asked lawmakers to pass the 2nd tax reform bill by the end of 2018. In 2019, he asked Congress to pass the remaining packages of the Administration’s Tax Reform Program, and the bills that would further raise excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol.
Public health is also a SONA fixture. In 2016, he pushed for health insurance for all Filipinos. The year after, he declared as an achievement the “No Balance, No Billing” law and government efforts to help indigent Filipinos afford health care. In the 2018 SONA, he called on Congress to pass the universal health care bill. They eventually did and he signed the landmark measure into law in February. In 2019, he cited the assignment of health workers in all barangays, and the expansion of the Malasakit Centers.
Curses and sexist remarks
Duterte is known for his curses and sexist remarks in most of his public speeches but only two of his four SONAs so far contained such controversial utterances.
His second SONA in 2018 had 25 expletives while his fourth (2019) contained seven expletives. His first (2016) and third (2018) SONAs were curse-free.
Among the curses and sexist remarks he uttered in the 2019 SONA were:
- “Sabi ko (I said), ‘911.’ ‘Yes.’ ‘What’s your emergency?’ ‘I — I seemed to lost my — to have lost my girlfriend.’ ‘We know you, Mayor.’ ‘You go back to Manila there are plenty left there. Go.'”
- “There was this three-day no water. I was in Davao. So everybody was complaining and I was even afraid to come here because what if my girlfriend will not be able to — to take a bath. [laughter] She will smell like hell. So I said, I’ll wait for the water to wash her.”
- “Naglalakad siya doon sa beach, naka T-shirt na blue and ‘yung mata niya nandoon sa dalawang Caucasian. God damn it, Cimatu, akala ko ba inutusan kita? O, bakit ka palakad-lakad diyan sa beach, tingnan mo ‘yung naka-bikini na dalawang puti.” (He was walking along the beach wearing a blue T-shirt and he was eyeing two Caucasians. God damn it, Cimatu, I thought I sent you on an errand.)
- “Make a scene. Sampalin mo ‘yang putang ina na ‘yan. (Slap that son of a bitch) [laughter] Kasi aabot rin sa akin ‘yan (Because that will reach me).” [applause]
- “Pinapakain ko ng pera ‘yang mga yawa na ‘yan. Eh galit na ako sa inyo eh. Kindly be assertive. Pagka hiningian ka, sabihin mo, “Tangina mo. Sabi ni Duterte, the President told us, that if you extort money from me, I will slap you.”
(I am feeding that son of a bitch with money. I’m angry at you. Kindly be assertive. If they ask you, tell them, “You son of a bitch. Duterte said, the President told us, that if you extort money from me, I will slap you.”)
- “Goddamn it, Cimatu. Akala ko ba inutusan kita? Yes, sir. O bakit ka nagpalakad-lakad diyan sa beach tinitingnan mo ‘yung naka-bikini na dalawang puti?” (Goddamn it, Cimatu, I thought I sent you on an errand? Why are you strolling around the beach, looking at those two white women wearing bikinis?)
- “Kaya ko nagsabi ‘tang ina ninyo. Anong kahulugan ng Nayong Pilipino kung lagyan mo ng sugalan and without a bidding?” (The reason why I said son of a bitch. What is Nayong Filipino for if you put gambling and without bidding?) (With information from PhilStar, Inquirer, and Rappler)
