By Alec Go
President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his final and longest State of the Nation Address on Monday afternoon (July 26), but assured the continuous drive for important measures for COVID-19 recovery.
Speaking during his hybrid SONA, Duterte called on the Congress to immediately pass legislations amending the Foreign Investments Act, Public Services Act, and Retail Trade Liberalization Act.
“Today is my last State of the Nation Address. But this is, by no means, my swan song. I shall never cease to implore Congress to pass vital and critical legislation, as well as to push the entire government to ensure nothing less than the full recovery and the vitalization of our country,” he said.
“But to do this, it is necessary for us to first overcome the crippling fear, anxiety, and uncertainty that was caused by the COVID-19 virus,” he added.
Duterte said the prevailing pandemic has stalled the country’s developments as the Philippines “was poised to leapfrog into the company of the world’s fastest-growing economies.”
He, however, promised to restore lost livelihoods and level up the employability of sectors that suffered the most during the pandemic. He added the government continues to ramp up its vaccination program and other COVID-19 measures, especially with the Delta variant threat.
He appealed to Congress to pass measures that will establish the country’s first virology institute, with hopes of local scientists’ ability to develop vaccines. He also called on the passage of measures that will further address the needs of overseas Filipino workers and migrant workers.
In terms of infrastructure developments, several government agencies have been directed to be on “full speed” for the completion of flagship projects this year. The Marawi Rehabilitation has yet to be completed four years after the siege.
‘Remembrances’
With less than a year left in his term, Duterte said his five years in office were “challenging and humbling,” citing several achievements on free education, universal healthcare, and infrastructures.
“As I approach my term’s end, I have less visions but more remembrances. Mine is not to second-guess what might have been, but bear and respond with urgency to unforeseen events as they unfold,” he said.
“I stand here before you today bearing no conceit. But if there is one thing that I could be proud of, is that not once did I waver in doing the unpopular even if it meant upholding the greatest good for the greatest number,” he added.
Duterte began his speech past 4:10 p.m. and finished a minute before 7:00 p.m. -rir
