I think people are not looking forward to the soaring oratory, the poetry of a traditional SONA. They are not even interested in bold strokes.

What they want to hear is the to-do list in a wartime SONA that will spell out the battle plan against the pandemic.

Specifically, they want a granular SONA, and if I may suggest, a 30-day plan on how to prevent this pandemic from reaching a dangerous tipping point, from now until August 31.

This is the flatten-the-curve plan that will stabilize and reverse the spike in cases, and improve all the important numbers in our economic report card.

One big push this August, para pagdating ng ‘Ber months, the pandemic, although still with us, is managed and contained. I call it the Jose Mari Chan deadline. Bago siya magtrending, nakalabas na ng ICU ang ating bansa. Not total victory, but a tactical stabilization plan.

I think that is the end-of-the-tunnel light our people have earned the right to see after enduring one of the world’s longest and toughest quarantines. ‘Yan ang tanong ng taumbayan: Hanggang kailan ba ang aming pagtitiis?

Iyan ang dapat masagot. To give them hope, and a sense of direction amidst the feeling of drift. If the President can convey this well, and if the sacrifice of the people can be met by the competence of the officials who will execute the plan, then we may soon find ourselves out of the woods.