The two-week old Duterte administration is currently collecting information on government’s various projects to get the “lay of the land” of the country’s affairs that will be reported in President Duterte’s first State of the Nation Address (Sona) on July 25.
The Office of the Cabinet Secretary said Mr. Duterte had instructed all departments to submit relevant information and statistics on the issues and concerns pertaining to their respective offices.
The submissions are part of the ongoing housekeeping of the Duterte administration, after which the government, fully aware of the progress made on the various economic programs, will start to work toward effecting the policies laid down by the President.
“Our job now is to collect the information from the five Cabinet clusters identified by the President to make it more efficient to achieve the government’s goals,” Assistant Secretary Bebeth Moncano told BusinessMirror.
“Then we would be able to coordinate, through the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, the government’s programs to realize the directives given by the President during his impromptu speeches,” she added.
The President earlier designated the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, headed by Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr., to coordinate the programs aimed at reducing poverty, which he had promised to cut during his term from the current poverty rate of 25 percent to a rate of around 16 to 17.5 percent.
Development goals
Mr. Duterte’s first Sona on July 25 is expected to apprise the country of the government’s economic program and how these goals can be achieved.
The Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC) has set this year’s GDP growth target at 6 percent to 7 percent. For 2017, GDP growth target is set at 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent, while the targets for the rest of the Duterte administration will be raised to a range of 7 percent to 8 percent.
The national budget to be proposed by the Duterte administration for 2017 amounts to P3.35 trillion, with some P890 billion—equivalent to more than 5 percent of GDP—to be used for infrastructure projects.
Aside from these goals, the Cabinet clusters are expected to come up with feasible plans to accomplish Mr. Duterte’s directives, which he oftentimes presents in his impromptu speeches.
Simple, orderly Sona
Mr. Duterte’s first Sona at the Batasang Pambansa will shun the glamour seen in previous administrations, where politicians and their ladies are dressed to the nines.
“For this Sona, it would be different in a way that we will be minimizing the entourage. We will downplay the event. It will not be like a fashion show. We want to center on the President’s message to the people, because this is his first State of the Nation Address,” said Paola Alvarez, the new spokesman for the Department of Finance (DOF).
“In previous Sonas, most people see the event as an occasion to flaunt their gowns, their dresses. We want to step away from this norm and we want to bring back the real essence of the State of the Nation Address,” Alvarez said.
Presidential Communications Secretary Martin M. Andanar said he would like the Sona be more like its counterpart in Russia, where the solemn event is very orderly.
Alvarez said award-winning director Brillante Mendoza will be the director for Mr. Duterte’s first Sona, and he will ensure the solemnity of the event through some symbolic ceremonies, such as the President being greeted only by the Senate president and the Speaker of the House of Representatives upon his entry, instead of allowing a free-for-all meet-and-greet at the Batasan plenary hall.
Legislative agenda
Malacañang officials have yet to confirm what Mr. Duterte’s speech will contain, or whether he would again speak impromptu or read his prepared speech, which is already being written by a group of speechwriters.
However, Alvarez said Mr. Duterte’s legislative agenda would probably be discussed in his speech.
Among the legislative proposals included in the agenda are the tax-reform proposals, the shift to federalism, revival of the death penalty for heinous crimes, among others.