SoNA at Batasan
Safety protocols to mark Duterte address
President Rodrigo Duterte will hold his fifth State of the Nation Address (SoNA) at Batasan Pambansa on 27 July, Senate President Vicente Sotto III has announced.
In a video teleconference with reporters, Sotto said that officials from the Executive
Department, Senate Secretariat and House of Representatives Secretary-General are already preparing for a physical SoNA as Duterte decided to deliver his address in the usual venue despite threats of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
“I just received a word today that the President has decided to deliver his SoNA at the Batasan Pambansa in the House of Representatives on 27 July,” he said.
But Sotto said this arrangement is still subject to change depending on the agreement of the Executive Department, Senate Secretariat and House Secretary-General.
Due to the pandemic, Sotto disclosed that the Presidential Security Group will only allow 50 people maximum inside the Batasan Complex.
The Senate chief said 25 people will be coming from the Executive Department while the other half will be allotted for the members of the Legislative Department.
For the Legislative Department, 13 will be coming from the House of Representatives while the other 12 will come from the Senate. The number of people from both chambers will include staff members from the secretariat and sergeant-at-arms, Sotto stated.
The Senate chief mentioned that only eight senators are expected to attend on 27 July. The initial list includes Sotto, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senators Christopher Lawrence Go, Ronald de la Rosa, Francis Tolentino, Panfilo Lacson, Pia Cayetano and Sherwin Gatchalian.
All attendees will undergo rapid tests before they will be allowed to enter the Batasan Pambansa Complex.
Moreover, Sotto backed Duterte’s decision to hold it physically at the Batasan Pambansa as this will give the public an assurance that the government is still continuing its job despite the threats of COVID-19.
“The president, if I will describe him in one word, he’s swashbuckling. Maybe he doesn’t want the people to say that the government is cowered by the pandemic,” he said.
Sotto added that given the safety protocols laid out by the PSG, he is assured that they will be protected from the virus during Duterte’s SoNA.
“If I don’t think it is safe, I won’t go. I think it will be safe because we will not be close to each other. And I agree with the decision of the Executive Department because we must give the country, the public and the people, the semblance that your government is up and about and ready to continue with its job especially Congress. So, I think that is a very good decision,” he said.
Fallback position
Earlier, Malacañang said that virtual delivery of Duterte’s SoNA is a “safe, fallback position” due to the ongoing threat of COVID-19.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said a public address via teleconference is one of the options considered by the government, noting that the Constitution does not require the President to physically report to Batasan Pambansa during his SoNA.
The annual SoNA is mandated by Article VIII, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution. It stated that “The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session.”
Article VI, Section 15 of the Constitution also provides that the Congress “shall convene once every year on the fourth Monday of July for its regular session.”
Meanwhile, in his opening remarks at the second Pre-SoNA forum organized by the government Wednesday, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the economic gains made by the Duterte administration in its first three years would help the Philippines weather the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Nograles pointed out that there were already signs that the country was on the road to recovery.
“As what (Finance) Secretary (Carlos) Dominguez mentioned, in previous years, emergency spending and urgent borrowing might have been very difficult but the economic performance of the Duterte administration prior to the pandemic, together with its approach to fiscal and economic management, made the country one of the strongest, most resilient and credit-worthy economies in the region,” he added.
Preparedness was key
Nograles said no other country in the world was able to prepare for such an onslaught.
Citing data provided by the Department of Finance, Nograles said that government revenues had been affected by the pandemic, with estimated tax collections from the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs 16 percent lower than last year during the same period, while unemployment in the country was at 17.7 percent in April.
Nograles pointed out that while the economy had taken a hit, the Duterte administration have long laid the groundwork for the economic recovery of our country.
“We may be having a hard time, but there are also signals which tell us that our economy is fighting and getting up despite the pandemic. Customs collection went up by 4.4 percent — evidence of increasing economic activity,” he said.
The Palace official also stated prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the country received a BBB plus credit rating, the highest in our country’s history.
Also, amid the pandemic, international credit rating agencies have affirmed the country’s sovereign ratings and have kept them at investment grade levels.
“Secretary Dominguez said it best: this is a vote of confidence in a sea of credit rating downgrades and negative outlook revisions worldwide,” Nograles said.