‘P**** I**’: A Pragmatic Analysis On President Rodrigo Duterte’s First and Last State of the Nation Addresses (SONAS 2016 - 2021)

Abstract

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is infamous for his speech. He is known internationally to use derogatory terms against everyone: his critics, activists, human rights rapporteurs, United Nations delegates, a United States president, even the Pope, and especially the media. This research utilized a qualitative method. This paper’s goal was not to justify nor to rebut his statements, but to scrutinize them based in the lens of the Speech Act Theory. The study utilized President Duterte’s first and last State of the Nation Addresses, presented to the Congress of the Philippines Session Hall of the House of Representatives at the Bátasang Pambansà Complex, Quezon City on, July 25, 2016, and July 26, 2021. This research would want to try to find answers on the questions: what are the most common illocutionary forces found on Duterte’s speech and what do they connote? The overall results found that majority of Duterte’s speeches are representative (61.95%), while the Declaratives are the least, which only account for 0.21% of all utterances.