As we await for President Rodrigo Duterte’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA), his address is but a carrying over of the Philippine state tradition that began when President Manuel L. Quezon stood in the podium of the House Session Hall in the Old Legislative Building (now the National Art Gallery, National Museum of the Philippines, in Luneta, Manila) on November 35, 1935. Surprising as it is, since the incumbent president has appeared to have overturned some strongly held traditions of state as I have mentioned in my previous posts.
Of course, the tradition and procedure of a SONA is full of meaning. For example, the SONA is scheduled on the day of opening session of Congress as mandated by our Constitution (Art. VII, Sec. 23, 1987 Constitution of the Philippines), which is why, the speech is delivered before the legislators annually. Moreover, to show the independence of the Legislature from the Executive Branch, the preparation of the SONA is only initiated upon the President’s receiving of a formal invitation of Congress to deliver his SONA in the Batasang Pambansa. On this occasion, a joint session is held, composed of the upper and lower chambers (senators and congressmen, respectively) to hear the President deliver his speech. In his speech, he reports on “the state of the country, unveils the government’s agenda for the coming year, and may also propose to Congress certain legislative measures.”
For a more comprehensive history of this state tradition, which dates back to the early years of the American Colonial Period, read the Official Gazette historical briefer here.
The entire nation now tunes in. Whether we agree or not in the incumbent’s policies, this is historic, as the SONA will be delivered by the first Philippine president to hail from Mindanao.
Video above: A short footage of President Manuel L. Quezon delivering his State of the Nation Address in 1938 at the Senate Session Hall of the Old Legislative Building in Manila, one of those rare occasions that a SONA was delivered in the Senate hall instead of the House’s. Footage from GovPH Youtube Channel.
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