President Rodrigo R. Duterte signs the Freedom of Information (FOI) Executive Order in Davao on July 23. Witnessing the signing are Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence Go (partly hidden), Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar and Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella. (MNS photo)
MANILA, July 25 (Mabuhay) – Setting the tone of his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday that he will not resort to finger-pointing.
“We cannot move forward if we allow the past to pull us back. Finger-pointing is not the way,” Duterte said as he opened his SONA.
“This is why I will not waste precious time on dwelling on the sins of the past or blaming those who are perceived to be responsible of the mess that we are in and suffering from,” he said.
The President noted that focus must be on the present and the future, and that the country must only look at the past to “maybe extract a lesson from these errors.”
Duterte said, however, that those who do wrong by the people will be held accountable.
“Lest I be misunderstood, let me say clearly that those who betray the people’s trust shall not go unpunished and they will have their day in court,” he said