The 2019 State of the Nation Address was the fourth State of the Nation Address delivered by President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

Preparations

The House of Representatives has allocated a budget of for the State of the Nation Address with about 1,500 people invited for the event. Weavers displaced by the

Battle of Marawi The siege of Marawi (), also known as the Marawi crisis () and the Battle of Marawi (), was a five-month-long armed conflict in Marawi, Philippines, that started on May 23, 2017, between Government of the Philippines, Philippine government Arme ...

also prepared a ''balod'' or traditional Maranao drape which was used as a backdrop for President Rodrigo Duterte for his speech. Film director,

Joyce Bernal Joyce E. Bernal (born May 6, 1968) is a Filipina film and television director. Her entry to the film industry began when she became a film editing apprentice under Ike Jarlego Jr. for Viva Films in 1989, the year she worked on Eddie Garcia's fil ...

was commissioned to be involved in the coverage of the speech.

Address content and delivery

In the program took 1 hour and 33 minutes, Duterte spoke about corruption and the economy. He urged the Congress to pass 18 bills. This includes measures involving the reinstatement of death penalty for heinous crimes such as involvement in the illegal drug trade and plunder, the creation of a National Academy of Sports for high school students, a Magna Carta for barangays, and the postponement of the 2020 barangay elections. Duterte also threatened to close Land Bank if they don't come up with a plan for farmers by the end of July 2019. The president felt that the bank has strayed from its intended purposes of being a bank for farmers lamenting that it has been "mired in so many commercial transactions." The Philippines' policy towards China and the

South China Sea dispute Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan (Republic of China/ROC), and Vietnam have conflicting island and maritime claims in the South China Sea. The disputes involve the islands, reefs, banks, ...

was also a subject of the speech. Duterte defended his foreign policy amidst accusation of treason. He insisted on having negotiations with the Chinese and stated that the Philippine military don't stand a chance against their Chinese counterparts in an event of a war. He also said that he has allowed the Chinese to fish in the disputed territory saying that countries around the South China Sea has traditional fishing rights. However Duterte has vowed to push for the Philippine claim in the area in due time.

Gallery

2019 State of the Nation Address (SONA) of Rodrigo Roa Duterte, 16th President of the Republic of the Philippines.webm , Recorded video

References

State of the Nation Address 2019 speeches

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Presidency of Rodrigo Duterte Speeches by Rodrigo Duterte {{Philippines-stub