Paul Soriano (Wikipedia)
Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications Paul Soriano may not return as director of the upcoming July 24 State of the Nation Address (SONA) after all. This, after House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said that they were waiting on Malacañang to officially designate a director. "Wala pa kaming advice kung sino talaga yung magiging director, no (We still haven't been advised on who will be the director). Let's wait for the advice of the Office of the President (OP)," Velasco told House reporters during a pre-SONA walk-through in Batasan Complex Monday, July 10. "But right now we're coordinating with the Office of the Press Secretary. So yun yung in charge dito sa preparations sa physical arrangements, no (That is the office in charge of the physical arrangements)," he said. When asked by reporters last July 4 on who will be the director of this year's SONA, Velasco said: "So far, as of this moment, si Paul Soriano ang designated director ng SONA (Paul Soriano is the designated director of the SONA)." "Si Paul Soriano pa rin ang kasama namin dito sa preparations. Yun so far no, there could be more additional help (Paul Soriano is still assisting us with the preparations. That's the case so far, there could be more additional help)," Velasco said. But as of Monday, nothing was sure. "So far wala pa kaming final word kung sino talaga yung director na pipiliin ng Office of the President (So far, we still don't have final word as to which director the Office of the President would pick)," the House official and. Soriano, husband of popular showbiz personality Toni Gonzaga, was the one who directed President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s first SONA last year.