MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte’s fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona) is “notable” because it is “less peppered with colorful words,” Senator Sonny Angara said Tuesday.
President Duterte delivered his fourth Sona at the Batasang Pambansa Complex on Monday afternoon.
“Kung noon tadtad ng ‘P,’ngayon ibang ‘P’ na ang pinagtuunanan nya– the Ps that matter: Progress, Peace and Prosperity,” Angara said in a statement.
Angara further described the President’s speech as “well-curated” as it tackled issues that the Filipino people “want to hear from him.”
“I will not belabor him for omitting other issues because it is impossible to cram all of our problems in one speech,” he said.
“Hindi naman isang linggong pabasa ang Sona. What is important is that he talked about the things many of our people want to hear from him,” Angara added.
The senator also agreed with the President’s “hugot lines” particularly on corruption, saying that the Filipino public is equally frustrated with the continued corruption in the government.
“Okay naman yung mga hugot lines ng Presidente lalu na ang tungkol sa corruption. Tulad niya, frustrated na din tayo sa patuloy na corruption sa gobyerno,” Angara said.
He also thanked the President for including the teachers’ pay, the Magna Carta for Barangays, the establishment of a National High School for Sports and the Department of Resilience.
READ: Duterte to Congress: Pass new law on gov’t workers, teachers salary hike
“What is the best Sona reaction? We should react with deeds. It should be back to work for all of us,” the senator said. /muf