The spokesperson of the Commission of Elections urged Filipinos to watch President Rodrigo Duterte‘s final State of the Nation Address to help them gauge the next set of leaders that they want for the 2022 national elections.
James Jimenez, also the director of Comelec’s Education and Information Department, on Monday tweeted that the public can expect the last SONA to “mostly highlight” what Duterte “believes are his greatest achievements.”
“Maaring mabanggit rin ang mga legislative priorities niya para sa hinaharap. Malamang hindi madadagdagan ng linaw ang usaping sino nga ba ang tatakbo sa #2022NLE, still, it’s important for voters to get a sense of how the country fared under the current administration,” he added.
“NLE” refers to the national and local elections that will be held in May 2022 wherein Filipinos will have the chance to vote for the country’s new set of leaders, including the highest officials of the land—president and vice-president.
Jimenez also encouraged the public to register to vote and practice their constitutional right to suffrage.
“This will help you decide whether you want more of the same, or something else. #SONA2021,” he said, referring to his call for Filipinos to watch the chief executive’s sixth SONA.
“Either way, ang #SONA2021 ay isang napakahalagang pagkakataon na madadagan ang ating kaalaman—kaalaman na kakailangin natin upang masiguro ang ating makabuluhang paglahok sa #2022NLE. Anupaman ‘yan, #MagparehistroKa na! #KailanganKaNgBayan,” Jimenez added.
Duterte is expected to talk about his administration’s COVID-19 response efforts, infrastructure projects in light of his “Build, Build, Build” initiative and his foreign policy, among others, in this year’s SONA.
