Senators want to hear President Rodrigo Duterte’s policy guidance for the three remaining years of his administration during his third State of the Nation Address (SoNA).

They also expect Mr. Duterte to report major accomplishments in the war against criminality.

“[I expect] an accurate report on the state or condition of our country, his overall vision, philosophy for the country and where the President wants the country to go or what he wanted to see achieved in our country,” Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III said.

Sen. Sonny Angara expects Mr. Duterte to enumerate laws passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives during his second year.

“[The SoNA will be] a bit about the last two years and the bills he has signed into law—like free tuition, school-feeding, anti-hazing, free irrigation. Perhaps also a bit on the Bangsamoro organic law and the peace process in Mindanao,” Angara said.

“Of course, his favorite topics peace and order and the anti-drug efforts [are expected],” he added.

Data from the Philippine National Police (PNP) showed there was an 11 percent reduction in the crime volume in 2017, and five percent increase in crime clearance efficiency and four percent crime solution efficiency.

In the war against illegal drugs, the PNP reported that from July 1, 2016 up to June 30, 2018, more than 1.2 million drug personalities had surrendered while 49,265 others had been arrested.

Of the number of surrenderers, more than 208,000 underwent rehabilitation.

The PNP said 4,540 drug lords and peddlers were neutralized after resisting police operations.

The war against drugs resulted in the clearing of 18,388 barangays from the influence of illegal drugs or 62 percent of the total 29,749 villages affected by the menace.

An estimated P13.5 billion worth of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu, controlled precursors and essential chemicals were seized.

The House of Representatives promised a “safe and secured” SoNA.

“All security plans and deployment are in place,” House sergeant-at-arms Roland Detabali said.

“We have had numerous inter-agency meetings, planning and rehearsals to ensure the safety of our President, the VIPs, guests and personnel considering all possible scenarios from bombings, fire and chemical attack,” he added.

Detabali said security forces are trained and experienced with vital equipment and are capable of dealing with all possible contingencies.

He added more security forces and equipment will be deployed this year compared to last year’s SoNA, considering that the situation in Marawi City has been resolved.

“Last year, they were tapped in Marawi so we don’t have a contingency force here. Now we have that liberty to have the time and rehearsals and they can help us in really promoting the system of being confident,” Detabali said.

After the success of the pre-SoNA 2018 forum, the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) is now considering to hold updates on agency performances every quarter.

“We will have this also next year and we are planning to have this perhaps on a quarterly basis so that at least we have a forum,” PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar said.

He added the three-part series pre-SoNA 2018 Forum themed “Tatak ng Pagbabago” was a success, giving various Cabinet clusters the chance to expound on the accomplishments of the administration.

“I think this pre-SoNA was successful because our President cannot cover all accomplishments of the government since he will speak for only 35 minutes,” Andanar said.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.