MANILA, Philippines — If Malacañang would rate President Rodrigo Duterte’s fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona), it would be nine out of 10.
“Alam niyo po, bago na kasi yung format ng Sona natin. Meron po tayong pre-Sona na tinatawag kung saan yung mga detalye ay sinabi na ng mga kalihim ng iba’t ibang departamento,” Presidential spokedsperson Harry Roque said in an online briefing.
(Sona’s format has already changed. We have pre-Sona where the details were already presented by Cabinet secretaries.)
“So, kay Presidente lang po ay yung direksyon at broad strokes, hindi na po yung mga detalye. Kaya nga po wala na tayong litanya ng mga figures na naririnig sa mga nakaraan na Sona. Sa akin po, 9 out of 10 ang grado ng Presidente,” he went on.
(So the President is left to mention the direction and the broad strokes and not the details. This is why we no longer have the litany of figures being heard in previous Sonas. For me, the President’s grade is 9 out of 10.)
Asked why he only gave nine instead of a perfect score, Roque said it was due to the lengthy speech and lack of “quotable quotes.”
“Well, sa akin naman po, siguro sa pagsulat ng speech, number one, mahaba. One hour 40 [minutes]. E meron na pong pre-Sona,” Roque said.
(For me, the writing of the speech was lengthy. It lasted one hour and 40 minutes when we already had a pre-Sona.)
“Pangalawa po siguro, yung mga quotable quotes. Kung ako nagsulat dyan, mas marami akong ilalagay na quotable quotes sa simula at sa ending ng speech. Pasensya na po kayo pero nung studyante po ako, nagtrabaho din ako as speech writer,” he went on.
(Second, the quotable quotes. If I wrote the speech, I would put more quotable quotes at the stand and end of the speech. I’m sorry, when I was a student, I also worked as a speech writer.)
Some critics said Duterte’s Sona lacked concrete plans on the country’s road to recovery from the COVID-19 health crisis.
But Roque said “they must be deaf,” adding that the President underscored the need to pass a number of laws to respond to the pandemic including the “We Recover as One Law” or the Bayanihan 2.