Duterte's SONA 2019

The Center For Women's Resources says the danger of President Rodrigo Duterte's call during his SONA about leading by example is that it could mean "following his misogynistic attitude, which made it worse for women."

"I implore those who occupy positions of power and authority, to let your deeds and accomplishments do the talking. Lead by example. Words ring hollow when not followed by positive and prioritized action," Duterte said Monday in his speech.

CWR says in a statement Wednesday that violence against women has continued, as one woman or girl is raped every hour.

"Worse, state-perpetrated VAW has become rampant. Since President Duterte became the president, more than 50 cops were involved in various cases of violence against women," it says.

Senators react to the fourth State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Newly elected Sen. Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa says that there is a big chance that a version of the death penalty that includes plunder will hurdle the Senate. He cites that a pro-administration super majority occupy key posts in the 18th Congress. 

Sen. Bato Dela Rosa says he thinks there is a big chance that a version of the death penalty bill that includes plunder will hurdle the Senate, citing President Duterte’s popularity. #SONA2019 #SONALive @PhilstarNews pic.twitter.com/WjCuqVMtKG

— Ian Nicolas Cigaral (@ipcigaral) July 22, 2019

Sen. Risa Hontiveros, on the other hand, says that fixing the justice system, not death penalty, will deter crime. 

Opposition lawmaker @risahontiveros on President Duterte's call to Congress to reinstate death penalty for drug-related henious crimes and plunder: Ang totoong deterrent sa krimen ay pagsasaayos sa criminal justicr system. @PhilstarNews pic.twitter.com/IX0zTO235M

— Gaea Cabico (@gaeacabico) July 22, 2019

President Rodrigo Duterte has finished his fourth State of the Nation Address, which lasted for 1 hour and 33 minutes. 

President Rodrigo Duterte says he will continue to push for the return of the multi-billion-peso coco levy fund to farmers. 

He says that an honest man should administer the coco levy fund, which according to him, is a "sacred money."

He calls for the urgent utilization of the coco levy fund.

President Rodrigo Duterte says he is not ready to accept more disruptions in the West Philippine Sea issue. 

"I will do it in the peaceful way," he says. 

He adds that he will stand up for the country's economic rights in "due time."

"I cannot go there even to bring the Coast Guard to drive them away. China also claims the property and he is in possession," he says.  

Duterte discusses the West Philippine Sea:

He says the avoidance of armed conflict drives the Philippine government to seek peaceful resolution of the maritime dispute:

War leaves widows and orphans in its way. I am not ready or inclined to accept the occurence of more widows and more orphans in case of war.

I will do it in the peaceful way, mindful of national pride and sovereignty

Short of advocating a call to arms there are those who say we should stop those who fish in our economic zone. Of course we will, in due time.

Relates meeting with China President Xi Jinping:

I said: I want to go to my territory to dig oil, because that is ours. Sabi ni President Xi, well, you know there is a conflict there.

A squabble there could lead to something else. We just became friends and perhaps we can talk about things...

If the trouble comes out from the mouth of a president of a republic, anong magawa ko. Then, maybe, sir, we can talk about this some other time. But definitely, before I go, we must talk about the West Philippine Sea. I cannot go there, even to bring the Coast Guard, to drive them away.

China also claims the property and he is in position. All the resources there as an owner. We are claiming the same but we are not in position because of that fiasco... 

"Si Albert [del Rosario]... yung ambassador... tayo ang umatras. That was a kind of a compromise. Nung umatras tayo, pumasok sila. That day we lost the Spratly and Panganiban," Duterte says.

President Rodrigo Duterte says he will fulfill his promise to have a third telecommunications player in the Philippines. 

He assures that there is no corruption in the entry of the new telco player.

"I guarantee you upon the grave of my father," he says.  

Topics discussed so far:

Corruption at Customs 

I went to Customs two weeks ago, I found out there are 63 facing criminal charges, 61 of them under investigation. If we cannot abolish their positions and I cannot dismiss because they have security of tenure... Allow them to have their plantilla position, but they have to report to Congress every day... I do not want them back. 

Ease of Doing Business

Simplify. May I... nandito ba kayo... simplify just like the others. you can do it electronically. I've been asking that from you since three years ago. pag di niyo pa nagawa 'yan ngayon, papatayin ko talaga kayo. Simplify and make your services client friendly. Your client is the Filipino, our employer

Bong Go

Boracay rehabilitation

I am proud to say that it has been restored close to its original pristine state. Boracay island is just the beginning. And the girls there... are waiting for you gentlemen. Duterte says the island will be distributed to the Atis, the indigenous people of the island.

President Rodrigo Duterte cites the efforts of his administration to rehabilitate Boracay Island.

"It has been restored close to its original, pristine state," he says. 

"Boracay is just the beginning. The girls there, the foreigners, are waiting for you, gentlemen," he adds.

Duterte orders several government agencies to simplify their services. These include the Land and Transportation Office, Social Security System, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Land Registration Authority and Pag-IBIG Fund.

Duterte says he has fired 100 officials and appointess of the government over alleged corruption.

"There is no sacred cow," he says.

Duterte request Congress "to reinstate the death penalty for heinous crimes related to drugs, as well as plunder" as he launches into the State of the Nation Address.

He says he is "grossly disappointed" at massive corruption, especially in the case of "ghost" kidney treatments paid for with Philippine Health Insurance Corp. funds. He also congratulates the National Bureu of Investigation for its quick action on the case. 

Drugs, crime and corruption are some of the ills Duterte cites first in his SONA.

Before the joint session of a refreshed Congress, Duterte stresses what he perceives is a need for the reimposition of the death penalty.

The Philippine leader's new push for capital punishment is against the trend of abolition of the death penalty—long disproved to be a deterrent of crime—around the world.

"Believe me, I will end my term fighting," President Duterte starts his State of the Nation Address after being serendaded by the Philharmonic Orchestra as he made his way to the rostrum.

President Duterte has already arrived at the Batasang Pambansa complex after a delay of nearly one hour.

President Rodrigo Duterte arrives at the House of Representatives via chopper.

The president was expected to give his speech at 4 p.m., but arrives at close to 5 p.m.

President Duterte is running late. It's already 4:30 p.m. and President Duterte has not even arrived at the Batasan Pambansa complex yet.

The SONA was supposed to start at 4 p.m. Follow LIVE updates here.

Politicians, partners, celebrities and guests arrive at the House of Representatives in Quezon City to attend President Rodrigo Duterte's fourth State of the Nation Address. Many show off their designer-made gowns and dresses as they strut down the red carpet. 

Change came but things changed for the worse, groups say of the three years of the Duterte administration.

In a joint statement, Let's Organize for Democracy and Integrity (LODI), the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Concerned Artists of the Philippines, and Altermidya say that since Duterte became president "what was once considered rare and infrequent news on police-instigated killings, massacres, and haranguing of communities speedily became frequent staples in the news."

They add: "Aside from the drug war, dozens of massacres, killings, and arbitrary arrests have been committed at a rate only comparable to the dark years of the Marcos era. With the rampant human rights violations, wittingly or unwittingly, the victims have become mere statistics, losing their names and identities to the dark powers-that-be."

"Even freedom of expression is in peril. Merely voicing out concern and reporting on the aggravating human rights situation in the country puts one at risk. The attacks were sustained and targeted all fronts: from the red-tagging of activists and organizations, to the harassment and even killing of journalists," the groups also say.

With both houses of Congress done with electing their leaders, the session is suspended until Monday afternoon, when they will meet at the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City for a joint session to hear President Duterte give his State of the Nation Address.

Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay says "the Duterte government is deliberately fueling fears and paranoia, spewing dangerous and oftentimes unfounded claims on criminality and terrorism" on its third year.

In a statement, human rights group Karapatan says "the three years of this government is anchored on bloated statistics and disinformation meant to justify widespread repression and unnecessary brutality directed towards the poor, the oppressed, and the critical."

Karapatan, which joins other activist groups in protests that coincide with the president's State of the Nation Address says police are "insinuating malice" in the protests, which are protected rights under the constitution.

"The Philippine National Police has earlier announced that it will conduct random inspections of protesters’ belongings, which is not only a scare tactic and a harassment scheme, but will also render protesters vulnerable to the PNP's expertise of planting evidence and making dubious claims and charges," Karapatan says.

"We do not trust the PNP, with its bloody record in the country's anti-narcotics and counterinsurgency campaigns. If anyone is looking for the instigators of violence, then the men in uniform are the foremost violators in this country."

Urban poor settlers under Sanlakas and Kongreso ng Pagkakaisa ng Maralitang Lungsod will picket the National Housing Authority in Quezon City on Monday morning to highlight landlessness in the Philippines as well as "the lack of social services, low wages, high prices and the issue of job security," Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino says.

The picket precedes the United Workers SONA on Monday afternoon, where workers affiliated under BMP, KPLM, Sanlakas, womens' organization Oriang and Partido ng Lakas ng Masa will march to press their demands for regular jobs, living wages and lowering of prices of basic commodities.

Protesters are starting to gather at different points along Commonwealth Ave. hours ahead of President Duterte's SONA.

Traffic status:

• Light traffic along northbound lane of Commonwealth Ave. up until Ever Gotesco mall where five lanes have been closed.
• The southbound lane from the U-turn near the Ever Gotesco mall up until before IBP road will be fully closed by 2:30 p.m. to make way for the SONA protest rally

— Report by The STAR/Romina Cabrera

BPO workers will be on the streets today to march with other labor groups in the United Workers SONA on the same day that President Rodrigo Duterte is to hold his State of the Nation Address in a joint session of Congress.

"After three years in office, the Duterte administration sorely failed to deliver its promise to end contractualization and advance a national minimum wage. Instead, what we have is a diluted version of a bogus security of tenure bill and nominal wage hikes on the one hand and relentless attacks on trade union rights on the other hand," Mylene Cabalona, president of the BPO Industry Employees Network, says in a release.

The BPO employees are raising issues in their sector, where workers allegedly have to contend with "unreachable metrics, multiple job assignments and utter disregard of companies to occupational health and safety standards."

Cabalona says: "The BPO industry is said to be the big contributor to the economy and the job creator in the country, but workers' problems in the BPOs has been ignored. We are especially concerned about with the impact of automation on jobs and working conditions of BPO workers."

Sen. Nancy Binay says she hopes to hear how President Rodrigo Duterte will extensively tackle the "gut issues" faced by Filipinos during his fourth State of the Nation Address on Monday.

Her statement comes after the latest Pulse Asia survey revealed that the top three issues Filipinos would most like to hear from the president are workers’ pay hike, reducing the prices of basic goods, and jobs and livelihood creation.

READ: Wages, inflation and jobs top issues Pinoys want to hear in Duterte’s SONA — Pulse Asia

"Sana, goal-driven ang SONA. We in the Senate will always have a listening ear for the President's legislative priorities. It would be comforting and encouraging, even in the slightest regard, if these three top issues (salaries, prices, jobs/livelihood) are given emphasis in his speech. Unahin natin bigyang prayoridad yung mga isyu na dikit sa sikmura," the senator says in a media statement.

Youth leaders hold "SOPAs" or the "State of the Province (of China)" in Nepa Q Mart in Cubao, Quezon City to protest President Rodrigo Duterte's perceived pro-China policies.

"President Duterte needs to be reminded every day that we are not a province of China," Akbayan Youth secretary-general Justine Balane says. "He does not 'own' the Philippines as he claims either so he cannot just 'give out' fishing rights."

"If he pushes forward with his plan to defend China's aggression in SONA 2019, he will only confirm that he does not have the interest of workers, fishermen, farmers and young people in mind," Balane also says.

"He is serving his multiple masters well: the Chinese government, the Filipino elites, the Marcoses, and the Arroyos," Balane said. "Meanwhile, Filipino fishermen are getting harassed, Filipino workers are getting less value from their take-home pay, and young people have limited employment options." 

Joyce Bernal will direct the official coverage of the State of the Nation Address in July, a sequel of sorts since she directed the SONA last year.

Bernal was tapped to take the place of Brillante Mendoza, whose creative shots and angles during what was essentially a presidential speech were widely criticized in 2017.

Monitor updates as we follow President Duterte's 4th SONA.