President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivered his 4th State of the Nation, July 22, 2019, at

Batasan Pambansa at Quezon City. The SONA should have begun at exactly 4:00 in the
afternoon. But due to unfavourable weather condition, the presidential chopper was not able to
fly at the designated time and thus, the SONA began at 5:15 in the afternoon which is more than
an hour late as compared to the original plotted schedule. As the father of the nation, President
Duterte delivered his SONA, highlighting the accomplishments of his administration for the past
year and proposing the changes that he would still want to pursue in the coming years. Duterte
started his speech by extending hand in gratitude to all who kept faith with him in most trying
times. He highlighted the result of the latest survey by Pulse Asia. Duterte emphasized that
illegal drug problem persists and corruption continues but promised to continue fighting until his
term ends. Duterte wants to reinstate the death penalty for heinous crimes related to drugs and
plunder, also revealed the way some government officials work. "We in government talk too
much, act too little, and too slow. We are long on rhetoric but short of accomplishments."
Duterte also mentioned the rehabilitation made for Boracay Island, which was now "restored
close to its original pristine state." He added that it's just the beginning. He also plans to declare
the whole of the island a land reform program and give piece by piece to the Aetas. On Manila
Bay rehabilitation, the administration will relocate informal settlers along the waterways and
shut down establishments that continue to pollute and poison the waters. Speaking on the entry
of third telecommunications company in the country, Duterte ensured "there is no corruption at
all." He challenged the player to fulfil its commitment to provide fast and reliable telecom
services to people Duterte hopes that the Bangsamoro transition will fast-track establishment of
regional government that will secure comfortable life for our Muslim brothers and sisters and
indigenous people in all of Bangsamoro region. The president praised DepEd Secretary Leonor
Briones as more Filipino learners are receiving basic education with over 27 million enrollees
from kinder to senior high school. He shared approval on the proposed measure to create the
National Academy for Sports for high school students. On West Philippine Sea dispute, Duterte
said the avoidance of armed conflict and protection of our territorial waters and natural resources
compel us to perform a delicate balancing act. Duterte asked Congress to pass the remaining
packages of administration's tax reform program, and excise tax,also instructs to pass the
Trabaho Bill and the Salary Standardization Law. The president also urged Congress to hasten
the creation of Department of Water Resources, Department of Disaster Resilience and fire
protection program. He even joked that an earthquake should strike the Session Hall at that
moment. Duterte also instructed government offices that business permits should be released
within three days. On dispersion of economic activities to Visayas and Mindanao, he said that it
is not just a campaign promise but an economic imperative. Duterte also mentioned Land Bank
should help the coconut farmers, also urged Congress to pass the National Defence act and
revive the mandatory ROTC."A comfortable life for the Filipinos in the next three years... I
dream the Philippines better than I grew up with," Duterte ended his speech.
 The SONA was indeed an eye opener and a form of inspiration to us Filipinos. The
SONA shows how our President Rodrigo Roa Duterte do his efforts and love for our dear
country Philippines. As our president stated the achievement of the administrations this 3
accomplishment struck me the most.
The applicability of the death penalty is evident in the current times as manifested by
different heinous crimes going on across the country. With the rape, killings, and other inhumane
crimes going in left and right, the present administration has realized that the only way to solve
these is through the reinstatement of the death penalty. In my personal opinion, looking into the
crime rate of other countries who are also implementing the death penalty, there is a significant
decrease in it. Hopefully, if the same law shall be applied in our land, it would serve as an eye-
opener to people that committing such crime is not a joke and it is something that must be dealt
with utmost severity and punishment.
The significant improvement of the Manila Bay can be seen. The efforts to clean it up
by conducting different cleanup drive was made for the past months and the result is favorable.
Before, people do not find delight in having a sightseeing activity in the bay since it is filled with
trash and there is a stinky smell. But now, the number of families who usually go to Manila Bay
to watch the sunset and have a picnic is noticeable. It is high time to stop the abuse of nature. If
we have not realized yet, we throw our garbage anywhere and later on, it returns to us. The type
of garbage that we can see floating in the streets is the very same garbage that we used to throw
anywhere. We have seen its effects and we have experienced how difficult it is to cope with
environmental problems. As a supposed to be a developing country, I appreciate the fact the
government is also giving focused on the environmental issues that have been plaguing us for
decades.
The need to reinforce the “delicate balancing act” about the West Philippine Sea is the
only solution that the government could come up with at the moment. President Duterte
emphasized that this will be possible if all matters concerning negotiation about the natural
resources of the country as well as territorial waters will be handled through this way. With the
conflicts being experienced with the Chinese vessels trying to establish their camp on our
territories paired with the pressure given by the mass people to protect our land to the
government, the administration is in a difficult situation.