Pre-SONA forums make comeback next month

FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte does the thumbs up gesture while delivering his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the Joint Session of the 17th Congress at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives Complex in Constitution Hills, Quezon City on July 23, 2018. ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO

MANILA — After its kickoff last year, the Office of the Cabinet Secretary and the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) are set to bring back a series of forums to discuss the achievements during President Rodrigo Duterte’s third year in office, prior to his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles updated the Cabinet with the pre-SONA activities of the Cabinet clusters.

Nograles presented these pre-SONA activities during Monday night’s Cabinet meeting which was presided by Duterte, according to Panelo.

He said there will be three Pre-SONA forums to be spearheaded by the PCOO.

The first forum entitled “Patuloy na Pag-unlad” will be led by the Economic Development and Infrastructure Cluster in Manila on July 1.

The second one, “Patuloy na Malasakit at Pag-kakaisa” will be led by the Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster, along with the Participatory Governance Cluster, in Cebu City on July 10.

Finally, the “Patuloy na Katatagan” will be presented by the Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Disaster Risk Reduction Cluster and the Security, Justice and Peace Cluster in Davao City on July 17.

The SONA, which is delivered by the President of the Philippines every year, is a constitutional obligation, required by Article VII, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution.

It is a venue that allows the President to report on the state of the country, unveil the government’s agenda for the coming year, and also propose to Congress certain legislative measures.