Senators expect to hear concrete recovery efforts in Duterte's 5th SONA

Senators in the majority bloc are expecting that programs responding to the COVID-19 pandemic's impacts will take the spotlight in President Duterte's fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 27.

- VANNE TERRAZOLA, MARIO CASAYURAN, and HANNAH TORREGOZA

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said he hopes to hear from Duterte the exact state of our nation months after the novel coronavirus pandemic entered the Philippines.

Sotto also said he hopes the report will include verified figures on the COVID-19 situation in the country, as well as how his administration spent the funds Congress allocated for programs responding to the health crisis.

The Senate leader said he wants to know what would be the (President's) proposal for the next few months even with the pandemic.

‘Have our lives gotten better?’

His deputy, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, said the SONA should aim to answer the question of Filipinos: Have our lives gotten better?

For him, the President's address should dwell more on what must be done to help the country and its citizens win and recover from the pandemic.

PH’s financial position after pandemic

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, for his part, said he wants Duterte to report out the true state of the country and the country's financial position following the pandemic.

We must know the problem before we find the solution, Zubiri said in a recent radio interview.

Zubiri said he also wants to hear the President's plans for his last two years as the Philippines' chief executive.

Programs to generate jobs

Senate labor committee chairman Senator Joel Villanueva, meanwhile, said he hopes the SONA will tackle programs to generate jobs for the millions of workers who were displaced by the pandemic.