President Rodrigo Duterte’s SONA 2019
A Rhetorical Analysis
In a team, a leader should be present in order to supervise and keep the actions in
consonance to their aim, just like in a government, wherein a president is elected which
symbolizes the head, to enable a one direction towards progress, as he/ she would be the person
to balance and decide at some points that he is in charged. President Rodrigo Duterte, the 16 th
President of the Philippines had his State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2019 last July 22 at the
Session Hall of the House of the Representatives, Batasang Pambansa Complex, Quezon City, in
there, he stated his goals for the upcoming years of his term, gratitude, apologies, threats/
reminders and of course his pledge to his country. In regards to his speech, impromptu side
comments of him made it interactive, noticeable irony of his claims arose and trademark of his
wordings remained, showing that this is who he is.
At first, President Duterte has originally prepared a speech for the event however as he is
not that kind of person who will just read, he combined it with his impromptu speech wherein his
views on certain fields were shown such as when he said that, wait just let me say what is on my
mind, then tackle on the Bureau of Customs issue about people under it who were facing
charges, also, when he first addressed Filipino people, convincing them to make a scene if ever
maltreatment or unjust transaction happened, many more side comments of him were present
during his SONA, but the main point here is that, the president of the Philippines today has this
characteristic in which he will always choose to express what is truly in himself. Avoiding sugar
coated words while directing the speech to be somehow conversational and relatable even just
for ordinary Filipinos who lacks knowledge on English, highlighting his patronization to his
country’s native language despite the formality of the event. Second, this part is indeed
disappointing and confusing, for he, the respected president of a country, tends to normalize
women being treated sexually verbally based on his statement “And the girls there, the foreigners
are waiting for you gentlemen to visit the place. They are all on the beach sunbathing”
considering the fact that he just recently signed the Safe Streets and Public Act, for not even a
week into law, which implies upgraded penalties on sexual harassment and gender-based
discrimination. What an irony, right? As he did not pay attention to the things that he would say
right away, when he supposed to state or comment accordingly since what he would say would
eventually reflect on him and his doings, especially that citizens look up on him. Last but not the
least concern regarding the composition of his speech, his attributes in speaking e.g. bad words
specifically curses and expletives could be clearly seen and heard that time, which made him
standout from the rest of the former presidents in a notorious way. Words such as those are not
appropriate in that kind of event, because honestly, as a representative or as a leader of a country,
you should not let bemoaning came from you, as you are the one that should be managing and
making sure that the people under you are ethically-oriented, unite and thinks openly in regards
to problems and other factors in which you are all involved.
Hence, President Duterte’s overall SONA 2019 is composed of negative and positive
implications, positive in a way that transparency was pointed while negative due to the
unprofessional strategy he allotted. 16th President do have projects, decisions and laws passed
that are beneficial to the country, yet being mindful of the way he would make his country
known via himself should be developed for the better, as the Filipinos expect more from him,
and more than his commentary statements, sarcasms and inappropriate choice of words. May the
president able to realize how important the words came from his mouths are, in order to continue
and make the progress much attainable.
REFERENCES:
Duterte’s 2019 State of the Nation Address. (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/07/22/1936926/full-text-
dutertes-2019-sona-speech/amp/
Cook, E. (2019). What Did Duterte’s State of the Nation Address Reveal About His Presidency?.
Retrieved from https://thediplomat.com/2019/07/what-did-dutertes-state-of-the-nation-address-
reveal-about-his-presidency/
