INAASAHAN ni Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri na gagamitin ni Pangulong Duterte ang State of the Nation address upang tugunan ang susunod na hakbang para sa bansa hinggil sa patuloy na paglaban sa corona virus 2019 (COVID-19).

Sa pahayag, sinabi ni Zubiri na mahalaga ang yugtong ito dahil pinaluluwag na ang quarantine sa buong bansa pero patuloy pa rin tayo sa paglaban sa mabilis na pagkalat ng virus.

“So the SONA is very timely, and I’m hoping the President will spell out the next crucial steps for us,” ayon kay Zubiri.

Aniya, magpupunta siya sa Batasang Pambansa Complex para sa SONA kasama ang ilang senador.

Walong senador lamang ang pinayagan kasama ang dalawang opisyal at dalawang recorder ng pangyayari na makakadalo sa SONA.

Inaasahang dadalo ang iba sa virtual conference bilang safety measure dahil limitado lamang ang audience na dating siksikang SONA.

“Of course, we want to know about the plans for the vaccine, which is the one thing we need in order to finally end this COVID-19 crisis,” aniya.

“It would be great to hear about the government’s procurement plans for it, and perhaps a timeline of when we should expect the vaccine to be made available to our hospitals and our people.,” giit pa ni Zubiri.

Sinabi ni Zubiri na kasalukuyan nang nakikipagnegosasyon ang ibang bansa sa mga vaccine developer at manufacturer para  sa mabilis at magaang procurement process kapag mayroon nang nagawang bakuna kaya inaasahang natin na may plano na tayo hinggil dito at hindi tayo dapat mapag-iwanan.

“We in the Senate are ready to include the budget for the vaccination program in the Bayanihan II bill, or maybe the 2021 national budget,” pangako niya. “We just want to hear about the plan from the executive first, so we can align our measures accordingly.”

“In line with that, I hope the President will touch on our COVID-related priority measures in his address as well, particularly the Bayanihan II bill, which we hope to pass on third reading right after the SONA,” aniya. (ESTONG REYES)