MANILA – Health and safety protocols are all set for the holding of President Rodrigo Duterte’s sixth and final State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said strict protocols will be observed to ensure that it will not endanger the health of guests at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Nag prepare na po, nag meeting ang PSG [Presidential Security Group], Presidential Management Staff, pati ang Kongreso para sa arrangements. Very strict po. Lahat ng protocols na kinakailangan to protect the safety ng lahat na naandun para hindi magkahawaan ay naka set in place naman po (The PSG, Presidential Management Staff, and Congress have prepared and held meetings for arrangements. It’s very strict. All protocols to protect the safety of everyone to ensure there is no transmission is set in place),” he said in an interview over dzBB.

Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar earlier said a maximum of 400 guests are expected to attend the final SONA.

Guests must present their proof of vaccination, must be negative for Covid-19 via a reverse transcription polymerase-chain-reaction test two days before the event, and undergo rapid antigen test at the Batasang Pambansa on SONA day.

Video teleconferencing and live streaming will be done to accommodate media and guests who will not be physically present at the plenary hall.

Duterte’s own input

Nograles said the President himself decided on specific points he wanted to highlight in his last SONA.

“Pina-practice na ni Pangulo yung speech niya. Siya na mismo nag input sa speech niya ng points na gusto niya i-highlight (The President has been practicing his speech. He himself gave inputs he wanted to highlight),” he said.

He explained that besides the Duterte administration’s accomplishments, the President is also expected to convey what programs and projects he expects his successor to continue.

“Expected po natin babanggitin niya dun ang lahat ng nagawa under his administration, ano ang kailangan natin gawin especially sa laban natin sa Covid-19, vaccination rollout and probably yung challenge to the next administration—kung anong kailangan ipagpatuloy na pagbabago para sa kapakanan ng ating mga kababayan at para sa aking bansa (We expect that he will mention all accomplishments under his administration, what we need to do in the fight against Covid-19, the vaccination rollout, and probably the challenge to the next administration—the policies we need to continue for the benefit of our people and the country),” he added.

Covid-19 response

Andanar said the government has its eyes fixed on responding to the needs of the people, especially those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, in the last year of Duterte’s leadership.

“Alam naman natin na maraming nawalan ng trabaho, kaya dapat lang mag-focus ang national government diyan. (We are aware that many lost their jobs, so that’s what needs to be given attention to),” he said during an interview with DZRH on Sunday.

He also noted that the PCOO and its attached agencies are now ready for Duterte’s last SONA.

The production team, he said, has been deployed to efficiently man the venue at the Batasang Pambansa, while other government media will be covering from other areas.

He said they will be amplifying the accomplishments of the Duterte administration to the public in a more elaborate strategy so that more Filipinos will be aware of it in accordance with the directive of Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

“Nagmeeting po kami kasama ang ibang miyembro ng gabinete na binigyan ng direktiba ng ating Executive Secretary Medialdea na i-elaborate ang ibang mga bagay na kailangan after the State of the Nation Address (We met with other cabinet officials and we were given the directive by Executive Secretary Medialdea to elaborate things after the State of the Nation Address),” he said.

Not thought of seeking Senate seat

Andanar also clarified that he has not thought of running for a seat in the 2022 elections, instead, he is more focused on disseminating the information pertaining to the legacy policies of the Duterte administration in the last year.

“Ako ay nakatutok lamang sa aking trabaho, alam niyo naman yan. Siguro kung ako’y lumahok sa pulitika, dapat ay nung 2019 pa (I am focused on carrying out the job, as you all know. If I were to join politics then I would have done that in 2019),” he said.

Pre-SONAs were held across the country to assist the President in reporting to the people the accomplishments of his administration over the past five years as well as the scale-up plans for the remainder of his term.

The pre-SONAs were also held to inform the public on the priority and legacy projects of the Duterte administration as well as the Covid-19 response and strategies.

Duterte’s penultimate SONA lasted for 100 minutes. It is longer compared to his fourth SONA which lasted for 93 minutes.

His longest SONA was his second, which lasted for 120 minutes. His first and third SONAs lasted for 90 minutes and 48 minutes, respectively.