President Rodrigo Duterte during his final Sona
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has allotted a portion of his last State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday, July 26, to thank local government units and international partners who helped his administration fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Duterte said that local executives have been forced to “step up” as the health crisis required a whole-of-nation approach.
On the other hand, international communities and partners have been cited for helping the country ever since the pandemic began — providing protective equipment and eventually, COVID-19 vaccines.
“To our local executives, this pandemic pushed you to step up and deliver responsive assistance. I’m glad to have seen you undertake new and heightened responsibility, working doubly hard to protect your constituents,” Duterte said.
“To the international development partners who extended a helping hand amidst the global health emergency, the Philippines remember your kindness and goodwill with sincere gratitude,” he added.
But aside from that, Duterte also thanked the common Filipino for following regulations that were installed to prevent localized transmissions of the disease.
“And to all of you who answered the call to protect one another by adhering to our nation’s protocols, daghang salamat (thank you very much),” he stressed.
Prior to Duterte’s Sona, the Philippines has been one of the countries hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in several surges and one of the world’s longest lockdown measures.
As of Monday, the Philippines have 1,555,396 confirmed COVID-19 cases, of which 55,140 or 3.5 percent are active infections. There are 1,473,009 recoveries across the country, while the death toll has ballooned to 27,247.