President Rodrigo Duterte will call on Congress to approve the proposed government shift to federalism and other measures such as the proposed tariff on rice in his third State of the Nation Address on Monday, Malacañang said Thursday.
The Palace said Duterte’s third Sona will take only 35 minutes and will highlight the administration’s ongoing war against illegal drugs, criminality, poverty and the peace talks with the communist rebels.
But Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said Duterte might add sensitive matters since he was known to ad lib in his speeches.
He said Duterte’s second Sona lasted two hours and five minutes.
Duterte has reiterated his commitment to shift to a federal form of government and approve the Bangsamoro Basic Law to ease poverty and to end the Muslim insurgency, respectively.
Roque said the government was pushing for the amendment of Republic Act 8178 or the Agricultural Tariffication Act.
He said the Rice Tariffication Act would bring down the prices of rice by around P7 per kilo and reduce inflation to below 4 percent by the second half of 2018.
He said the Palace will provide reporters with the list of the legislative agenda to be submitted by the Executive to Congress.
He said Duterte will deliver his third report to the nation before a joint session of Congress on July 23 in the midst of criticisms over human rights abuses, the South China Sea dispute, rising commodity prices and the botched peace negotiations with the communist rebels.