President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. expressed confidence that he has something to present to the public in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) next month as he bared that they have started preparations for the annual event.

While not going into specifics, Marcos told reporters at the Manila Hotel that his speech would follow the usual template– a report about the developments since his inaugural SONA.

"Like any SONA, it will be a report to the nation as to what the situation has– what happened in the last year since the last SONA, where we are now, what we have managed to do, and where we still have work to do," he said on June 8.

"We will have a look and see ano na nangyari doon sa mga ating mga pinag-usapan nung unang SONA (what happened to the things we talked about in the first SONA)," he added.

Marcos expressed confidence that he has something to report to the public next month.

"Sa palagay ko naman, mayroon naman tayo ipapakita (I believe we have something to show the people), and that's what the content of the SONA, I think, will probably be," he said.

The President said they started collecting materials needed for his speech but did not disclose further details.

"Well, let me naman preserve some ano. Keep it until the time comes," he said.

"Well, the truth of the matter is, we're still preparing everything, all the materials that we're going to put together," he added.

Unlike his predecessor, Marcos did not mention the country's illegal drug situation in his first SONA. He, however, discussed his administration's plans to address the country's post-pandemic economic recovery.

The President also mentioned addressing the food crisis, strategically distributing relief goods, making medicines more affordable, and ending the production and utilization of "poor quality" materials, among others.

Marcos likewise talked about bridging the country's digital divide and continuing the Duterte Administration's infrastructure program.

But the statement that earned Marcos commendation, even from his critics, was his foreign policy. He said that the Philippines would remain friendly to all countries, but he would not allow the Philippines to lose even an inch of its territory to foreign powers.

The President capped his first SONA by enumerating his 19 priority bills.

Source:
courtesy of MANILA BULLETIN

by ARGYLL CYRUS GEDUCOS

If you have any stories or news that you would like to share with the global online community, please feel free to share it with us by contacting us directly at [email protected]