(Courtesy: Presidential Communications Office) 

MANILA — No virus or storm has stopped a President from delivering their State of the Nation Address. Not even when a President was sick has a SONA been cancelled.

President Elpidio Quirino delivered his 1950 SONA from the hospital bed by radio broadcast while recuperating at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States.

The local radio network picked up Quirino’s speech at 10 a.m., in time for the opening of the regular congressional session then, according to the book The Official Calendar of the Republic published by the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO).

This was also the only time a President did not appear personally before Congress to deliver his SONA.

Even at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte decided to physically deliver his 5th SONA at the Batasang Pambansa, rejecting a proposal to deliver his speech via videoconferencing from Malacañang.

Only a handful of guests were invited to be physically present at the Batasan, where they wore face masks and face shields and practiced social distancing.

After all, delivering a report on the state of the nation has been a constitutional obligation since the Commonwealth period, with the first SONA delivered by President Manuel L. Quezon during a special session of the National Assembly on November 25, 1935.

As the 1935 Constitution put it, the “President shall from time to time give to the Congress information on the state of the Nation, and recommend to its consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”

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CHANGING DATES

The dates of the SONA moved as succeeding laws moved when sessions of the National Assembly opened: June in 1936, October in 1937, and in January — specifically the fourth Monday of every year — starting in 1938.

The 1943 Constitution did not provide for a report to the Legislature on the state of the nation and so President Jose P. Laurel’s first and only message before the special session of the National Assembly during the Japanese occupation is not included in the list of SONAs, according to the Official Calendar.

The January tradition, according to the Official Calendar, was continued until 1972. The SONA was delivered on September 21 of each year from 1973 to 1977, to coincide with the date considered as the official anniversary of the imposition of Martial Law, except in 1975 when the SONA was delivered on September 19 as September 21 that year fell on a Sunday.

During this period, President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. delivered the SONA in Malacañang or at Luneta, except in 1976, when the address was given during the opening of the Batasang Bayan at the Philippine International Convention Center.

After the Batasang Pambansa complex opened in 1978, Marcos began delivering the SONA in the new home of the Legislature in Quezon City. The SONA that year was delivered on Independence Day.

From 1979 onward, the SONA was delivered on the fourth Monday of July, with the 1973 and later the 1987 Constitution, mandating the President to address Congress “at the opening of its regular session,” except in 1983 when Marcos delivered the SONA on January 17 to mark the anniversary of the ratification of the 1973 Constitution and the second anniversary of the lifting of Martial Law.

In 1986, President Corazon Aquino did not deliver any SONA, having assumed the presidency after the People Power Revolution and having declared a revolutionary government.

With Congress restored in 1987, Aquino delivered her SONAs in the Session Hall of the House of Representatives in Batasan, as have all succeeding Presidents.

Although tpost-EDSA SONAs are delivered every fourth Monday of July and usually at 4 p.m., Duterte's 2018 SONA started late because of a sudden change in leadership at the House of Reprentatives.

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LENGTH OF THE ADDRESSES

How long can SONAs run? President Duterte is the current record holder for delivering the longest post-EDSA SONA at 2 hours, 45 minutes.

Before that, Marcos, Sr. delivered the longest SONA in 1969.

“Length is a matter of preference and style,” Historian and former PCDSPO Undersecretary Manuel “Manolo” Quezon III — namesake and grandson of the former president — said in an interview with ANC.

Marcos Sr. delivered his longest SONA right before his 1969 reelection campaign, Quezon said.

“So it was one where he had to sum up all his achievements for the previous four years as he embarked on a very risky thing, which was to try to seek reelection which was possible under the old 1935 Constitution,” he said.

“As a rule, presidents speak briefly if they want to emphasize a particular point and if they want to do it with a minimum of a debate, because less talk, less mistake… So, if the President really wants to make a particular point, then he will shorten it so that people stay focused,” he added. 

“The other thing is presidents like to surprise. So you don’t want the SONA to be too predictable because then everyone will tune out.”

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo delivered the shortest SONA in 2005. It ran for only around 25 minutes.

Arroyo was then fighting for political survival after the “Hello, Garci” political scandal broke and she used the SONA as an opportunity to make a case for charter change.  

“The main message that she had to give was actually, between the lines, which is ‘I’m still here and I’m not going anywhere.’ So that was the emphasis at that point,” Quezon said.

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'BIG FIESTA'

Reflecting on the evolution of the SONA, historian Xiao Chua noted how one simple duty of the President has become a “big fiesta”, especially with the advent of television. While SONAs of years past were only heard on the radio, recent SONAs have become major productions.

“Human props” were introduced where presidents would reference regular Filipinos and their stories to add heart to policy as TV cameras would pan to them in the gallery.

President Arroyo had the “Bangkang Papel Boys” from Payatas in her first SONA in 2001 to spell out her vision of governance. VTRs, slideshow presentations, and infographics containing tables and charts have also been used as visual aids.

“At bakit hindi? Ito ang tanging talumpati ng pangulo na pinakaaabangan at pinakikinggan ng buong mamamayan.” Chua wrote.

(And why not? This is the most awaited presidential address)

Indeed the wide audience that the President has for the SONA reinforces the value of the presidency as a “pulpit” and makes every SONA “a political theater,” as Quezon put it.

“It’s a pulpit, it’s the one position in the country where what you say people look to to learn things and it’s a stage where you have to perform to keep the interest and attention of people. All of these things will be on display in the SONA,” Quezon said.

“There’s a lot of pomp and pageantry. There’s a lot of tradition to situate the president as one of a line but also efforts to make that current president stand out from his predecessors and his peers.”

And because of the media attention, not a small fortune is spent each year for the tradition, with attendees showing up dressed for the red carpet.

“Nagsimula na silang magsuot ng mga mamahaling mga trahe na tila tutungo sa isang fashion show o dancing ball. Gayundin, ginagamit ito ng iba’t ibang kongresista upang ipakita ang kanilang mga adbokasiya sa kanilang mga kasuotan,” Chua said.

(They have started wearing expensive clothes as if they are going to a fashion show or dancing ball. Other members of Congress use their clothes to promote their advocacies)

With the simple task of the President giving a report to the nation turning into a huge fiesta, Chua raises the question: “Kaninong pera ang ginagasta (Whose money are they spending)?”

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