PALLASIGUE, Maria Alexandra E.

11 – STEM AM 1
“THE 3RD STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS”

In the 23rd day of July 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte

delivered his third State of the Nation Address at the
Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines.
President Duterte’s speech focuses on the present and future
issues of the country. He didn’t present any of the previous
accomplishments of the administration. Prior to the delivery
of the constitutionally mandated SONA, the public was
surprised with the unexpected changes in the House of
Representative.

Traditionally, Duterte's speech was supposed to begin at

4 p.m. It was delayed by more than an hour because of the
leadership issues in the House of Representative between Rep.
Pantaleon Alvarez and Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Senate
President Tito Sotto said that President Rodrigo Duterte
nearly left the House of Representatives due to the delay in
his State of the Nation Address because of the leadership
showdown. In the end, the Congress decided to remove the House
Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and the former President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo sworn in the Congress and change his place.

The President opened his speech with an all-power slap

across the face of the critics of the Anti-Drug War of the
administration. In a seemingly challenging manner, Duterte
said that it will be "relentless" and "as chilling as the day
it began." He slams human rights advocates for criticizing the
anti-drug campaign. Thus the birth of an infamous yet another
controversial statement of the President, “Your concern is
human rights, mine is human life.” This line alone became the
cause of heated discussion between the supporters and critics
of the administration. The speech of the President tackled
various issues that are highly expected by the people
including; the corrupt government officials, the current
relationship between China and the Philippines , about our
hard-working Filipino migrant workers, the clarifications of
the island's closure as an environmental protection measure,
and the promise to sign the Bangsamoro Organic Law within "48
hours".

In conclusion, the President once again exceeded my

expectations. Duterte's 3rd SONA was his shortest SONA ever,
lasting approximately less than an hour. I noticed that he
just read most of it. Surprisingly, he didn’t swear at all.
Duterte focused on saying his plans without giving the actual
goal of where he wants the country to be at. His speech is
quiet boring and not so Duterte. Before, Duterte's past SONAs
were long, funny, and more challenging to follow, they were
also more entertaining but this qualities were lost in this
speech. But all-in-all the 3rd SONA of President Rodrigo
Duterte for me were reliable, admirable, successful and
trustworthy.