‘SONA to report hits, misses and next steps ahead’

By Vince Lopez

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said his second State of the Nation Address on July 24 will outline his administration's accomplishments in his first year in office as well as the challenges ahead and next steps to be taken.

Mr. Marcos said he is still in the process of completing his speech.

"We're still preparing everything, all the materials... Like any SONA, it will be a report to the nation as to what the situation has happened in the last year, in the last SONA -- where we are now, what we have managed to do, and where we still have work to do. That is essentially the template that we are going to use," he said.

"So, the things that I mentioned in the first SONA, we will have a look and see what was really discussed there during our first SONA. I think there is something we can show and that's what the content of the SONA will probably be," he added.

The President is expected to report on the priority legislative measures of the administration that have been passed into law, including the Maharlika Investment Fund bill which has yet to be signed, as well as on the gains of his various foreign trips in the past year. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

House...

From A1 what needs to be done to ensure a vibrant and prosperous future for all Filipinos," Fernandez said.

Dalipe said the House of Representatives will stay the course in its commitment to pass the priority measures of the President and the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) and ignore all forms of distractions that will only slow them down in fulfilling their mandate.

According to Dalipe, the House under the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez, will work double harder to carry out their mandate to pass laws that are direly needed to jumpstart the country’s economy and uplift the lives of the country’s poor.

He noted that Romualdez managed to secure multi-partisan support that saw the passage of priority measures at a recordbreaking pace.

“The House of Representatives will not be slowed down by premature partisanship. All these political rumblings are unnecessary distractions that will only brake our momentum in ensuring the swift passage of President Marcos’ priority measures and those that were approved by LEDAC. We have a commitment to the Filipino people that we will do even better on this second regular session,” Dalipe said.

Vice President Sara Duterte on Thursday issued a statement saying Romualdez, who was her campaign manager, had nothing to do with her decision to run in ths 2022 polls.

The Vice President later joined LakasCMD as its chairperson, with Romualdez as party president. She resigned from the political party last month.

Fernandez said while he and his colleagues in the House of Representatives join the Vice President in expressing full support to the Marcos administration, this support "can be better fleshed out if it is devoid of political bickering." (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

The...

From A1 personnel from entering the campus.

Civil Defense (OCD), Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno, said nearly 3,000 buildings and houses are located along the fault line.

Officials and employees from different agencies joined in the activity and practiced the duck, cover, and hold protocol.

Department of Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. said that the West Valley Fault is expected to move every 400 to 600 years.

The last time a massive earthquake hit the Philippines was in the late 1600s.

Solidum urged Filipinos to not be complacent over the possibility of the "Big One."

He said it’s possible that the country will experience a powerful earthquake in this generation, and people should not leave it to God to protect them.

That agreement was unilaterally terminated in 2021 by the DND when Delfin Lorenzana was Defense chief.

“That has been the policy already done by my predecessor and I don't want to reverse the policy," Teodoro, an alumnus of UP, said.

“But that does not mean to say that I am not mindful of the autonomy of the University of the Philippines. And I urge everybody to be respectful of that without need of any [memorandum of agreement],” he added.