Duterte delivers 2nd State of the Nation Address

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 23) — President Rodrigo Duterte will report on the state of the country a year after he assumed office at his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 24.

The SONA, which is mandated by Art. 7, Sec. 2

3 of the 1987 Constitution, is delivered before a joint session of the 17th Congress at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.

It is expected to start at 4 p.m.

Aside from talking about the situation in the country, the President will reveal in his SONA the government's plans for the year, as well as proposed legislative priorities to Congress.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a July 23 statement that Duterte's speech on Monday, the 79th one since President Manuel Quezon's SONA in 1935, is expected to be one-and-a-half hours long.

"The President's State of the Nation Address will be rendered in broad strokes reviewing past achievements, stating the present situation and announcing future prospects," he said. "The President's Report to the People will be available online shortly after the President has spoken. On the whole it will be frank, challenging, realistic but hopeful."

Duterte's first SONA on July 25, 2016 lasted one hour and 33 minutes.

Tighter security amid protests

National Capital Region Police Office chief Oscar Albayalde said on July 19 that 6,300 police personnel will be deployed to secure the Batasang Pambansa, all of whom will be unarmed.