Palace: Duterte wants SONA not to go beyond 50 minutes

President Rodrigo Duterte does not want his state address on Monday to go over 50 minutes, a Malacañang official said.

In a message to reporters Thursday night, Presidential Communication Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar said Duterte had started to rehearse his State of the Nation Address in Davao City at 7 p.m.

Andanar: At around 7pm in Panacan, Davao City, Pres. Duterte started rehearsing his SONA Speech. pic.twitter.com/Bslg6hLFDb

— Trisha Macas (@trishamacas) July 20, 2017

"The President said he does not want his "Written Speech" to go beyond 40 or 50 [minutes]," he said.

"He wants it direct to the point. I'm estimating the final draft to be between 15 and 18 pages," he added.

According to Malacañang, Duterte's second SONA carries the theme "A Comfortable Life for All," which is written in English.

However, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella pointed out that Duterte–who went off-script in his first SONA–would determine how long his speech would be. — RSJ, GMA News