State of the Nation Address of His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III President of the Philippines to the Congress of the Philippines
State of the Nation Address of His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III President of the Philippines To the Congress of the Philippines [This is an English translation of the speech delivered at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives, Batasang Pambansa Complex, Quezon City, on July 27, 2015] Thank you, everyone. Please sit down. Before I begin, I would first like to apologize. I wasn’t able to do the traditional processional walk, or shake the hands of those who were going to receive me, as I am not feeling too well right now. Vice President Jejomar Binay; Former Presidents Fidel Valdez Ramos and Joseph Ejercito Estrada; Senate President Franklin Drilon and members of the Senate; Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. and members of the House of Representatives; Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and our Justices of the Supreme Court; distinguished members of the diplomatic corps; members of the Cabinet; local government officials; members of the military, police, and other uniformed services; my fellow public servants; and, to my Bosses, my beloved countrymen: Good afternoon to you all. [Applause] This is my sixth SONA. Once again, I face Congress and our countrymen to report on the state of our nation. More than five years have passed since we put a stop to the culture of “wang-wang,” not only in our streets, but in society at large; since we formally took an oath to fight corruption to eradicate poverty; and since the Filipino people, our bosses, learned how to hope once more. My bosses, this is the story of our journey along the Straight Path.
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