{"id":262379,"date":"2020-07-21T07:05:53","date_gmt":"2020-07-21T11:05:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=262379"},"modified":"2020-07-21T07:05:53","modified_gmt":"2020-07-21T11:05:53","slug":"dutertes-physical-presence-for-sona-to-push-through-despite-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/07\/21\/dutertes-physical-presence-for-sona-to-push-through-despite-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Duterte\u2019s physical presence for SONA to push through despite risk"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
FILE: President Rodrigo Roa Duterte talks to the people after holding a meeting with the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) core members at the Malago Clubhouse in Malaca\u00f1ang on July 15, 2020. SIMEON CELI JR.\/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Unfazed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, President Rodrigo Duterte has opted to fulfill his constitutional mandate to deliver his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 27 at the Batasang Pambansa Complex, Malaca\u00f1ang said Thursday.<\/p>\n

Duterte might be at risk of contracting Covid-19, but as the country\u2019s highest elected official, he cannot abandon his task of giving an annual report on the state of the nation to Congress at the opening of its regular session, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.<\/p>\n

Roque issued the statement in a virtual press conference, even though he admitted that Duterte\u2019s physical presence at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City for SONA makes the Palace \u201cworried.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe may be vulnerable\u00a0pero patuloy pa rin ang kaniyang trabaho bilang isang<\/em>\u00a0president (but he has to fulfill his job as president).\u00a0At nakasaad po sa Saligang Batas na sa takdang araw ng buwan ng Hulyo, siya ay magre<\/em>-report\u00a0sa Kongreso at gagawin po niya iyan<\/em>\u00a0(The Constitution states that in July, he has to make a report to Congress and he will do that),\u201d Roque said.<\/p>\n

Article 7, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution mandates the President to \u201caddress the Congress at the opening of its regular session.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Monday, Malaca\u00f1ang announced that Duterte will be \u201cphysically present\u201d at the Batasang Pambansa when he delivers his fifth and penultimate SONA on July 27, or the day when the 18th Congress opens its second regular session.<\/p>\n

Duterte made the decision to deliver a message that Covid-19 will not be a hindrance to the country\u2019s development, Roque said.<\/p>\n

\u201cGagawin po natin ang katungkulan. Mabubuhay po tayo sa kabila ng<\/em>\u00a0Covid-19 (We will do our job. We can live despite the Covid-19 pandemic). Physically, he has said he will go. I think it\u2019s also to send a message that we continue to live our lives despite Covid-19,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Limited guests<\/strong><\/p>\n

Malaca\u00f1ang initially said Duterte might hold virtual SONA, in case he cannot go in person to the Batasang Pambansa.<\/p>\n

To minimize Duterte\u2019s risk of exposure to Covid-19, Roque reiterated that there would only be a limited number of people who can attend this year\u2019s SONA.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, the presidential family, members of Congress and their spouses, former presidents, foreign diplomats, government officials, and other dignitaries are invited to attend the annual SONA.<\/p>\n

Roque, however, could not confirm whether Duterte\u2019s family would grace the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cHindi ko pa po alam kung sino \u2018yung magiging kasama ni Presidente<\/em>\u00a0(I do not know yet who will accompany the President),\u201d he said. \u201c\u2018Yung kasama ni Presidente, ang karamihan po diyan ay syempre, ang<\/em>\u00a0Presidential Security Group,\u00a0ang<\/em>\u00a0PSG (The President will be accompanied mostly by members of the Presidential Security Group or the PSG).\u201d<\/p>\n

Roque also noted that only 15 seats will be reserved for Cabinet members, and 25 seats each for senators and congressmen.<\/p>\n

He was likewise unsure whether he can attend Duterte\u2019s fifth SONA.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Roque said Duterte\u2019s fifth SONA will focus on the national government\u2019s response to Covid-19 pandemic, as well as on the President’s priorities for his last two years in office.<\/p>\n

\u2018360 degree shield\u2019 for PRRD<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a separate press statement, PSG commander Col. Jesus Durante ensured that \u201cheightened\u201d security measures are in place to keep Duterte safe from Covid-19.<\/p>\n

Durante said the PSG is working closely with concerned government agencies to \u201censure a 360 degree shield for the President and the safety of the whole venue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the ongoing pandemic, PSG will enforce additional health security measures adopted from the implementing guidelines of the PSG Task Force Covid-19, Department of Health, and the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, as expected,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Durante said inter-agency meetings with involved security firms have already been conducted.<\/p>\n

He added that there are “continuous collaborations” to make sure that Duterte will remain Covid-19 free.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll out security preparations work towards the end goal of a peaceful, successful and a Covid-free SONA 2020 of the President,\u201d Durante said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0\u2013 Unfazed by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, President Rodrigo Duterte has opted to fulfill his constitutional mandate to …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":262380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1145,16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-262379","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headline","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-ruth-abbey-gita-carlos","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262379","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=262379"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":262381,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262379\/revisions\/262381"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/262380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=262379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=262379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=262379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}