THE PRESIDENT delivered his sixth and final State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday afternoon, July 26.
Included in the President’s SONA were the offer of free education, universal health care, and the fight against illegal drugs, criminality and corruption.
Additionally, he reckoned the infrastructure projects in Metro Manila and the provinces, the streamlining of government processes, and the return of coco levy funds to its true and rightful owners.
Of course, the President did not forget the issue on ABS-CBN’s closure and how the latter owes the government billions in taxes. He also insisted that the Hague ruling may lead to war with China.
Filipinos had their own expectations of the last SONA of the President. Others believed the President should own up his failures and mistakes, including his war on drugs and mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the past few days, a lot of Filipinos were fussing about the SONA. They expressed their expectations before the scheduled date and their reactions right after the delivery.
But did you ever ask: Why is there a State of the Nation Address?
The SONA is both a constitutional obligation and a government tradition. In general, the President summarizes the accomplishments of his projects and programs for the past years and informed the public of the present economic, political, and social conditions of the nation.
The 1987 Philippine Constitution mandates that the SONA is a constitutional obligation. Section 15, Article VI provides that: “The Congress shall convene once every year on the fourth Monday of July for its regular session, unless a different date is fixed by law, and shall continue to be in session of such number of days as it may determine until 30 days before the opening of its next regular session, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. The President may call a special session at any time.”
Moreover, Section 23, Article VII provides that: “The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session. He may also appear before it at any other time.”
The Constitution mandates the President to deliver a speech during the opening of the sessions of the Congress which constitutes the Senate and the House of Representatives.
During this time, the President reports the status of the country and the plans of the government for the next years. He proposes to the Congress what laws should be passed and considered as priority bills. By doing this, the President will have specific directive and instructions to let his programs come to reality.
As a government tradition, the President informs the Filipinos about the state of the nation and recommends to the Congress the measures to be taken for the next fiscal years.
The SONA has become an event or an occasion for the Filipinos to hear the President talk about the nation’s health.
Filipinos are expected to take this opportunity to look at the salient features of the president’s SONA. This is also a challenge not only to the president but also to the Congress and the Filipinos to be involved and take part in making the Philippines a better nation./PN
