Roque: 3rd Sona to last only 35 minutes
President Duterte will just read his prepared State of the Nation Address (Sona) that would take about 35 minutes, his spokesperson said.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Mr. Duterte “promised the speech will not be long.”
“He will not extemporate (sic), he will read it,” Roque said at a press briefing in Cavite province.
Mr. Duterte has been known to ditch prepared speeches and talk his heart out on many issues.
From the heart
The move to make the President’s Sona shorter came after last year’s lengthy speech which lasted for at least 120 minutes.
Mr. Duterte’s first Sona lasted for more than 90 minutes.
Former President Benigno Aquino III holds the record for the longest Sona in terms of time—135 minutes.
For his third Sona on July 23, Mr. Duterte “will speak from the heart,” Roque said.
Roque said Mr. Duterte was not expected to list his administration’s achievements in 2017 since Malacañang had already been holding pre-Sona forums which saw economic managers explain the country’s gains under Mr. Duterte.
Preparations
The President, Roque said, was coordinating with individuals preparing his speech.
Roque did not identify who were helping Mr. Duterte with his speech.
New director
But Roque confirmed that movie director Joyce Bernal will take over from fellow director Brillante Mendoza the job of directing the Sona program.
Bernal had directed dozens of mostly romance and comedy movies while Mendoza’s latest flick shown in the international streaming service Netflix was about drugs.