SoNA outlines roadmap to recovery
Nograles revealed that the President is scheduled to undergo a swab test today
Malacañang on Saturday said President Duterte’s fifth State of the Nation Address (SoNA) is expected to outline further plans on economic response and recovery, an issue similarly echoed by experts and lawmakers in the wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said on Friday
that the President’s speech will highlight policies and pronouncements that are much needed at this time, especially in balancing the health sector preparedness and opening more economic activities.
The conducted three-part pre-SoNA forum, he noted, has already comprehensively discussed the accomplishments and future steps of every Cabinet cluster, which has helped in preparing a shortened version of the SoNA speech.
“In his State of the Nation Address, the President will include what is important and what the people want to know,” he said during a radio interview.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles revealed that the President is scheduled to undergo a swab test today contradicting the earlier statement of presidential spokesman Harry Roque that Duterte will take the RT-PCR test.
The Cabinet Secretary also disclosed that all the attendees at the SoNA will likewise undergo swab testing as the President will physically deliver his address before a joint session of Congress at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on Monday afternoon.
As this developed, political scientist Julio Teehankee shared the view that President Duterte should focus on reviving the economy and strengthening public health policies in the last two years of his administration.
Life, livelihood
Teehankee suggested that the government should concentrate its attention and resources on life and livelihood, stressing that there should still be livelihood for people to carry on with their lives post-pandemic.
The President has been criticized for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak even as doctors and professors from the University of the Philippines (UP) gave the administration a failing mark in its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The President’s speech will highlight policies and pronouncements that are much needed at this time, especially in balancing the health sector preparedness and opening more economic activities.
Duterte was earlier also slammed for his jokes regarding the coronavirus crisis and was urged to be “more serious” in his remarks that may affect public health.
Business groups meanwhile called on the President to outline in his upcoming SoNA his “clear” economic strategies to hasten recovery, as many small firms fight to survive the coronavirus pandemic.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Employers Confederation of the Philippines and Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. appealed to Duterte in a letter.
“While we agree that health-related programs and policies should be prioritized in the context of this crisis, we likewise believe in balancing this objective with setting the economic stage towards recovery and progress,” the three groups said.
“There had been many delays already in pushing for these reforms as government and private sector got sidetracked by disasters and hazards at the beginning of the year,” it added.
New normal
Meanwhile, Senator Sonny Angara is looking forward to hearing the administration’s plans for all the sectors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the SoNA.
With no end in sight with regard to the pandemic, Angara said it would be interesting to hear the government’s roadmap for the rest of the year and the year ahead.
“As we open up from various stages of quarantine, I would like to hear more on the new normal or next normal in terms of our children’s education since we have over 20 million of our children in schools,” Angara said.
The Department of Education has set the opening of classes on 24 August 24 with a mix of face-to-face and distance learning.
There will be limited face-to-face classes in areas deemed as low-risk for COVID-19 and in schools that are able to meet the minimum health standards.