A combination of “report card” and “marching orders”.

This is how Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto foresees “the tenor and content” of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) President Duterte will deliver Monday afternoon before a joint session of Congress.

“Traditionally, these are the two main ingredients of a SONA. And I don’t think that the one tomorrow will be anything different,” Recto said.

“’Yung SONA naman talaga, mula pa noon ang laging tema ay ‘marami nang nagawa, marami pang magagawa.’ It is one half ‘What we have done’ and one half ‘What is to be done,’” Recto explained.

“Presidents have used the SONA as a national pep talk, a feel-good speech, to boost the morale of the nation, and to rally them to support programs that need to be accomplished for the good of the country,” Recto said.

But Recto cautioned “the people not to get their hopes up in expecting that every concern, every solution, every sector, every region will be mentioned in the SONA.”

“The SONA is constrained by time so it is physically impossible for the President to cover all subjects. Ang SONA, hindi unlI minutes. Kung iisa-isahin niya ang kanyang gagawin, telenovela ang haba. Hindi ‘Ang Probinsyano’ ang SONA,” he said.