Yt Framework

With two weeks left before President Benigno S. Aquino III addresses Congress, his State of the Nation Address is still a work in progress.

Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Abigail Valte said the President’s speech is still in “constant evolution” as he continues to provide inputs and reviews the contents with his speechwriters.

So far, the speech is on its fourth draft and more than 30 pages long, Valte said.

The final speech, which will highlight the administration’s achievements in the past year and his plans for the coming year, will be delivered by the President before a joint session of Congress on July 23.

“We will see a lot of movements, a lot of changes in the way that the President does his SONA in the next weeks,” Valte said over government radio. “When the President sees something in his daily work that he feels should be included, it will be written in the speech. So the form of the draft will constantly change,” she added.

Valte said the President meticulously goes over his speech and often reviews each paragraph.

“He will give him his thoughts and everyone will listen. It’s just a matter of really taking down what the President is saying and also reordering,” she said.

“Sometimes when a paragraph is already written, the President would suggest some changes. There’s a lot of reordering that is ongoing but the entire team is closely working with the President on what he wants the final SONA draft to be,” she said.

Among the President’s speechwriters are Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Secretary Ramon Carandang and his undersecretary Manolo Quezon.

The President usually prefers short speeches and often delivers them in Filipino.

But Valte said she could not yet confirm if the entire SONA will be delivered in Filipino. She said the use of visual aids will be determined a week before the speech is delivered.

by: mb.com.ph