Statement of Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto
SONA's important call is the 'Six Million Challenge'

"Of all the challenges the President had laid out, the hardest is the liberation of 6 million of our countrymen from poverty. This is the Six Million Challenge that confronts us all. It is the overarching Priority No. 1. It is the most demanding because it means 2 million of our countrymen must graduate from dehumanizing existence every year, if the objective is to uplift them within the next three years. And even if we succeed in the Six-Million Challenge, there will still be about 15 million poor waiting to be liberated at the end of 2022.

"If there is one goal that should energize us, and consume our every waking hour, this is the one. This is a tall order that calls for a combination of solutions and the cooperation of all."