Duterte runs late for fourth SONA
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte is running late for his fourth State of the Nation Address.
This will be the third time the president will deliver a delayed SONA speech.
During his first SONA in 2016, Duterte arrived at 3:27 p.m., more than 30 minutes early for his scheduled address to a joint session of Congress.
That same year was the second longest SONA speech he delivered, lasting for an hour and 22 minutes.
In 2017, Duterte was a bit late for his second SONA and arrived at 3:50 p.m. He was expected to arrive at the premises by 3:30 p.m.
Duterte arrived aboard the presidential chopper and met with the leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives at 4:11 p.m. The meeting with the leaders of the two chambers lasted for 15 minutes before he delivered his speech and the joint session was called to order at 4:20 p.m.
His speech took two hours, the longest in three years.
In 2018, Duterte arrived at 3:56 p.m. but commenced delivering his SONA speech at 5:20 p.m. since there was a House leadership tussle.
His 2018 SONA speech was also the shortest at 48 minutes.
As of posting, Duterte is still in Bahay ng Pagbabago in Malacañang, Manila. The presidential chopper is still waiting for a go-signal to take off.
It is not uncommon for Duterte, whom his officials describe as someone with a hectic and punishing schedule, to arrive at speaking engagements past his scheduled appearance.
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