MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte would speak "straight from the heart" in his forthcoming State of the Nation Address, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Thursday.
This year, however, the president will not talk about his achievements as it would already be discussed in the month-long pre-SONA campaign at the Philippine International Convention Center.
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"I think there is still a speech writer but I think they want it to be a message straight from the heart of the president not hindered by the need to report on the different achievements," Roque said in a press briefing.
Roque added that the pre-SONA briefings would give Duterte freedom to "say whatever he wants" on his actual annual address before the Congress.
The president would have laid out his achievemnets before different clusters during his third SONA.
Malacañang earlier announced that the pre-SONA forum would feature Cabinet clusters that will discuss their respective policies, programs and projects implemented during Duterte's second year in office.
"Each forum will include an open forum with select secretaries of each cluster. And will be live streamed in the Facebook pages of the PCOO and its attached agencies such as PTV and Radyo Pilipinas," Roque earlier said.
The economic cluster and infrastructure cluster will report first on July 6 in a forum titled "Tatak ng Pag-Unlad."
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar will present the accomplishments and plans for their respective clusters in the forum.
The second forum on July 11 will feature Interior Officer-in-Charge Año, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno and acting Social Welfare Secretary Virginia Orogo.
Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana will talk in the third forum on July 18. — Patricia Lourdes Viray