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Cabinet execs lay measures to undertake after SONA
FILE: POST-SONA TALKS. Cabinet secretaries attend the post-SONA press conference moderated by PCOO Undersecretary Raquel Ignacio at the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Building in Quezon City Tuesday (July 23, 2019). The officials discussed measures they need to undertake based on the legislative priorities presented by President Rodrigo Duterte in his 4th State of the Nation Address on July 22.
(PCOO Photo via PNA)
QUEZON CITY – Representatives from the executive branch convened in a press conference on Tuesday, a day after President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivered his 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA), to clarify the measures that their agencies will undertake based on the legislative priorities of the administration.
Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the briefing was an avenue for the media to raise questions on the directives given by the president.
“This Post-SONA briefing is another component of our whole-of-government approach in providing our constituents, our stakeholders, our kababayans (countrymen) with the fact, all the facts and nothing but the facts — facts supported by figures and buttressed by data so that our people can draw their own conclusions about the true state of the nation,” he said.
Some of the topics discussed were the immediate actions of the agencies in attendance pertaining to the President’s latest pronouncement regarding corruption, peace and order, and poverty alleviation.
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said his agency has called for a meeting with all governors and mayors to discuss issues that were discussed during the SONA.
The dialogues, he said, will include efforts to ease traffic in Metro Manila, implementation of the Ease of Doing Business, and steps to curb corruption in the local setting.
Also present was Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, who shared the continued stride to eradicate communism and insurgency in the country through enhancing the capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
“As we go along, we try to improve the capabilities of our Armed Force by procuring defense equipment,” he said.
Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista likewise underscored the effort of his agency to carry on the crafting of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the enacted Institutionalization of the Pantawid Pamilya Program.
He said this will ensure that the provisions under the said law will be operationalized by the next year.
Weeks leading to the SONA, series of Cabinet cluster forums were also conducted to provide the public and other stakeholders a detailed report on the updates regarding the programs and policies implemented by the administration.
