President Rodrigo Duterte has made some 60 promises in his two previous State of the Nation Addresses. He delivers his third SONA July 23 with a mixed record.
Some promises have been fulfilled.
His vow to reform the country’s tax system is one. The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Act was enacted December 2017. Cutting delays in bureaucratic service delivery is another. The Expanded Anti-Red Tape Act was enacted last May.
Other promises remain in progress.
The administration’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” plan, designed to usher in the golden age of Philippine infrastructure, is underway, with various big-ticket projects in various stages of implementation.
Yet, certain promises failed to materialize, have stalled, or are on shaky ground.
Bills to amend government procurement languish in Congress, so do those seeking to reimpose the death penalty.
While developments on the Moro insurgency front signal success, attempts to end the communist rebellion through formal talks have gone downhill.
Duterte ostensibly has made good on his promise to rid the government of corrupt individuals, but no high-profile official fired or who had resigned for alleged corruption has been hauled to court and a handful had even made their way back, taking on new posts.
The president has vowed to continue the fight against illegal drugs, revising his central campaign promise to solve the problem in three to six months.
Find out how he fared overall with VERA Files Fact Check’s SONA 2017 Promise Tracker.
