Standout SONA lines from previous Philippine presidents
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. will be delivering his first official State of the Nation Address on July 25 after assuming his office as the 17th President of the Philippines last June 30.
The SONA is a constitutional obligation and a yearly tradition where the chief executive must report the government’s agenda for the said year to the state. The SONA will also serve as a platform to address the key policies and programs that the administration intends to propose to Congress.
Ahead of his first address, PhilSTAR L!fe takes a look back at some of the most memorable quotes of the country’s recent presidents.
Here are a few standout SONA lines delivered by previous Philippine presidents Rodrigo Duterte, Noynoy Aquino, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Fidel V. Ramos, Joseph Ejercito and Cory Aquino.
Rodrigo Roa Duterte (2016 - 2022)
“There will be no let-up in this campaign. Double your efforts. Triple them, if need be. We will not stop until the last drug lord, the last financier, and the last pusher have surrendered or put behind bars or below the ground, if they so wish.” – Duterte's first SONA, July 25, 2016
“In the Philippines, it is really an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. You took a life then you must pay for it with life. That is the only way to even. You cannot place a premium on the human mind that he will go straight.” – Duterte's second SONA, July 24, 2017
“Your concern is human rights, mine is human lives. The lives of our youth are being wasted and families are destroyed, and all because of the chemicals called shabu, cocaine, cannabis, and heroin. I worry about the future because I know what crimes can do to the youth of this country.” – Duterte's third SONA, July 23, 2018
“I have fired or caused the resignation of more than a hundred officials and appointees of government without regard to relationship, friendship and alliance. There is no sacred cow, as the saying goes, in my Administration.” – Duterte's fourth SONA, July 22, 2019
I worry about the future because I know what crimes can do to the youth of this country.
“Great wealth enables economic elites and corporations to influence public policy to their advantage. Media is a powerful tool in the hands of oligarchs like the Lopezes who used their media outlets in their battles with political figures.” – Duterte's fifth SONA, July 27, 2020
“Nobody can stop corruption unless you overturn the government completely. If I were the next president, if you think there’s really a need for you to change everybody in the system, then you declare martial law and fire everybody and allow the new generation to come in to work for the government.” – Duterte's sixth SONA, July 26, 2021
Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III (2010 - 2016)
“Makukuha natin ang kailangan natin, hindi tatayo gagastos, kikita pa tayo. Marami na pong nag-alok at nagmungkahi sa atin, mula lokal hanggang dayuhang negosyante, na magpuno ng iba’t ibang pangangailangan.” – Aquino's first SONA, July 26, 2010
Humaharap po ako sa inyo bilang mukha ng isang gobyernong kayo ang boss at kayo pa rin ang lakas.
“Wala tayong balak mang-away, pero kailangan ding mabatid ng mundo na handa tayong ipagtanggol ang atin. Ang sa Pilipinas ay sa Pilipinas." – Aquino's second SONA, July 25, 2011
"Humaharap po ako sa inyo bilang mukha ng isang gobyernong kayo ang boss at kayo pa rin ang lakas. Humaharap po ako sa inyo ngayon, at sinasabing, 'Hindi ko SONA ito.' Kayo ang gumawa nito. SONA ito ng sambayanang Pilipino.” – Aquino's third SONA, July 23, 2012
“Hangga’t buo ang ating pananalig at tiwala, at hangga’t nagsisilbi tayong lakas ng isa’t isa, patuloy nating mapapatunayan na, ‘the Filipino is worth dying for’, ‘the Filipino is worth living for,’ at idadagdag ko naman po: ‘The Filipino is definitely worth fighting for.” – Aquino's fourth SONA, July 28, 2014
“Simula pa lang ito. Nasa unang yugto pa lang tayo ng dakilang kuwento ng sambayanang Pilipino. Sa gabay ng Panginoong Maykapal, at sa patuloy nating pagtahak sa Daang Matuwid, lalo pang tatayog ang mga pangarap na maaabot natin. Lalo pang lalawak ang kaunlarang tinatamasa natin. Nasasainyo pong mga kamay ang direksiyon natin.” – Aquino's fifth SONA, July 27, 2015
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2001 - 2010)
“For I know that the greatest obstacle we as a nation must overcome is inside us. The enemy to beat is ourselves: when we spread division rather than unity; when we put ourselves above country and profit above fairness; when we think the worst of those with whom we should be working for the common good, and when we wallow in despair rather than rise to achievement–indeed, when we make politics replace patriotism in our country’s hour of need.” – Arroyo's first SONA, July 23, 2001
I did not become President to be popular. To work, to lead, to protect and preserve our country, our people, that is why I became President.
"For a country to be as good as it can get, many of the right decisions are tough decisions. I have made some of the toughest. And I will make even more tough decisions in the year to come. Because the easy way out may postpone the pain but only prolong the problem. The tough decisions are the right decisions, because they serve the people, and are the source of our hope for the future.” – Arroyo's second SONA, July 22, 2002
“Nasa giyera tayo. Giyera laban sa terorismo. Giyera laban sa katiwalian. Giyera laban sa kasakitan. Giyera laban sa droga. Giyera laban sa destabilisasyon. Sa ating sama-samang pakikipaglaban at pagtutulungan, tayo ay mangingibabaw at magwawagi.” – Arroyo's third SONA, July 28, 2003
“I stand in the way of no one's ambition. I only ask that no one stand in the way of the people's well being and the nation's progress. The time for facing off is over. The time is here for facing forward to a better future our people so desperately want and richly deserve.” – Arroyo's seventh SONA, July 23, 2007
“I did not become President to be popular. To work, to lead, to protect and preserve our country, our people, that is why I became President. When my father left the Presidency, we were second to Japan. I want our Republic to be ready for the first world in 20 years.” – Arroyo's ninth SONA, July 27, 2009
Joseph Ejercito Estrada (1998 - 2001)
“Kailangan magbanat tayo ng mga buto, at tunay na serbisyo ang siyang dapat na maging balangkas para sa ating mga solusyon.”
Naniniwala ako na kapag nagawa natin na tayo’y nagkaisa, tayo’y nagkasama-sama, lahat ng klaseng pagsubok ay malalampasan natin. Nandiyan din ang ating hamon; nandiyan din ang ating tagumpay.
"I have neither pretensions nor further ambition, only the sincere desire to serve, to help the least of our people. Kaya po ako’y humihingi sa inyo ng kaunting pag-unawa, kaunting panahon, kaunting pagtitiis alang-alang sa ating bayan, at higit sa lahat para sa ating nakakaraming mahihirap na mamamayan."
"Naniniwala ako na kapag nagawa natin na tayo’y nagkaisa, tayo’y nagkasama-sama, lahat ng klaseng pagsubok ay malalampasan natin. Nandiyan din ang ating hamon; nandiyan din ang ating tagumpay." – Estrada's first SONA, July 27, 1998
“To paraphrase Voltaire: I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. But that does not mean I waive the right to argue with you! That is as much my constitutional right as it is yours. Let all doubts be erased. Democracy, freedom, and the Constitution are alive and well in this country.” – Estrada's second SONA, July 26, 1999
Fidel V. Ramos (1992 - 1998)
“You and I can act separately – and achieve very very little. Or you and I can act together – and achieve much, much more. The time is short and our responsibility is clear.” – Ramos first SONA, July 27, 1992
“Only then can we redress, once and for all, the imbalance in national society between the few who are rich and the many who are poor. Only then can we make economic growth meaningful to the masses of our people.” – Ramos' second SONA, July 26, 1993
“How did we accomplish all of these things? We were able to do what we did—not by emphasizing ideology, but by seeking consensus and taking actions. Not by setting people apart, but by bringing them together. Not by charisma, but by quiet competence and patience, patience, patience. The lesson to us is clear: Without hard work, there are no miracles. We must perform as we pray, and pray as we perform.” – Ramos' third SONA, July 25, 1994
You and I can act separately – and achieve very very little. Or you and I can act together – and achieve much, much more. The time is short and our responsibility is clear.
“Kaya mga mahal kong kapatid at kababayan: Marami na tayong nagawa subali’t higit pang marami ang kailangan nating gawin.” – Ramos' sixth SONA, July 28, 1997
Cory Aquino (1986 - 1992)
“The dictatorship’s last mockery of democracy was committed in this hall, where the loser was proclaimed winner of the snap election. Today, I join you in rededicating this hall to true democracy.” – Cory Aquino's second SONA, July 27, 1987
“My mandate was not just to make a country rich, but to make democracy work: to make it work as a system of genuine popular participation; to make it meaningful to the lives of the common people by giving them jobs and justice, work with dignity, health, and education, and reason to hope that the future will be better for themselves and their children.” – Cory Aquino's third SONA, July 25, 1988
“And always, our people would rise from the rubble. We would shake off the dust and wipe the tears. And while we mourn our losses, our hope for the coming of a new day never dies. Earthquakes can destroy the strongest man-made structures; but they can never shatter the faith of the Filipino.” – Cory Aquino's fifth SONA, July 23, 1990
To burn – not as long in such loneliness – but much more brightly all together, as to banish the darkness, and light us to a new day.
“None of the good that we do is ever lost; not even the light in an empty room is wasted. From Ninoy’s burnt-out candle, and thousands like it in cells throughout the garrison state, we gathered the melted wax and made more candles. To burn – not as long in such loneliness – but much more brightly all together, as to banish the darkness, and light us to a new day.” – Cory Aquino's sixth SONA, July 22, 1991
Research by Sofia Valderama and Ada Pelonia
