Malacanang has given President Duterte a high performance score for his fifth State of Nation Address (SONA) despite criticisms from some groups about the alleged lack of a clear roadmap for pandemic response and economic recovery.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque gave the President a score of 9 out of 10 even though he found the speech too long and lacking of "quotable quotes."

He explained that the President presented "broad strokes" of the government's plans and programs in the coming months during his annual address before a joint session of Congress Monday.  Duterte left out the details of the government’s accomplishments and other programs since these have already discussed during the pre-SONA events made by Cabinet members, he added.

"Bago na iyong format ng SONA natin, mayroon na tayong pre-SONA na tinatawag kung saan iyong mga detalye ay sinabi na ho ng mga Kalihim ng iba’t-ibang departamento so, ang kay Presidente lang po is talaga 'yung direksyon at saka 'yung broad strokes, hindi na po iyong mga detalye  (The SONA format is new. We have pre-SONA events where the details are announced by the secretaries from different departments so the President focused on the direction, broad strokes, not the details)," he said.

"Kaya nga po wala na tayong litanya ng mga figures na naririnig natin sa mga nakaraang SONA. So, sa akin po, 9 out of 10 ang grado ng Presidente (There was no more litany of figures that we usually heard in past SONAs. For me, the President's grade is 9 out of 10)," he said.

Asked about the shortcomings of the President's speech, Roque admitted that this year’s SONA was too long.  Roque, who claimed he was a former speechwriter, also expressed concern about the content of the speech.

"Well, sa akin naman po, siguro iyong sa pagsulat ng speech, number one, mahaba, one hour and 40, eh mayroon na pong pre SONA (For me, on how the speech was written, number one, it was long, one hour and 40 minutes when we already held pre-SONA events)," he said.

"Pangalawa po, siguro  ano pa ba? Iyong mga quotable quotes, kung ako ang nagsulat diyan, mas marami akong ilalagay na quotable quotes sa simula at ending ng speech. Pasensiya na po kayo, pero noong estudyante kasi ako nagtrabaho rin ako as speechwriter (Second, what else? The quotable quotes. If I wrote the speech, I would put quotable quotes at the start and end of the speech. Forgive me but when I was a student, I also worked as a speechwriter)," he said.

The President's speech centered on the possible state takeover of telecommunication firms over their supposed bad service, tirade against oligarchs, tribute to health workers and frontliners, and his reluctance to further open up the economy due to the pandemic threat. Some social protection and economic measures for certain sectors, and several priority bills such as revival of death penalty were also mentioned in the President’s speech.

He veered away from the written speech a few times when he talked about the illegal drug trade, coconut level fund issue, and alleged irregular water concession agreements. He also had some difficulty reading some portions of the speech from the teleprompter owing to his poor eyesight.

"Understand. Because of the light I have … My eyesight is not as good as new," Duterte told his limited audience of lawmakers and cabinet members gathered at the House of Representatives in Quezon City.

Some groups however expressed disappointment with the President's annual speech, saying he failed to present concrete moves on how to improve the healthcare system and facilitate economic recovery from the pandemic.

Roque brushed aside the criticisms on the President's SONA, saying the critics were probably deaf. He added that the political opposition usually don't appreciate anything good from the President.

Nonetheless, Roque said the President discussed the government's economic programs, that include loan assistance to affected industries.

On coronavirus response, he said the government will scale up testing, tracing and treatment efforts to limit the spread of the disease.

Asked about the plans for workers who lost their jobs in the country, Roque said the government's program will be included in the proposed Bayanihan 2 law. He said lawmakers have promised to pass the priority bill within the month or by August.