Even though former vice president Leni Robredo and former president Rodrigo Duterte didn’t see eye to eye, her ex-spokesperson Barry Gutierrez said that she never skipped the State of the Nation Address (SONA) and did not engage in “drama.”

Former vice president Leni Robredo during the 2016-2021 State of the Nation Address (Photo from iMPACT Leadership via X)

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, July 12, the former lawmaker and Office of the Vice President (OVP) spokesperson hit at Vice President Sara Duterte’s remark that she was appointing herself as a “designated survivor” and won’t be attending President Marcos’ third SONA on July 22.

“Hindi nagdramang ‘designated survivor.’ Walang sinimulang spekulasyon na ‘may mangyayari sa SONA.’ Gabay ang Saligang Batas, hindi Netflix (Never did a designated survivor drama. No speculations that something will happen in the SONA. The Constitution is the guide, not Netflix),” Gutierrez wrote.

This was his comment as he shared Impact Leadership’s “The Real Survivor” post about Robredo attending all of the elder Duterte’s SONA—from 2016 to 2021–despite being the de facto opposition leader at that time.

The page made a collage of the former vice president’s attendance in the SONA, four of which—from 2016 to 2019–were in-person, while the last two—2020 and 2021–were virtual because of the pandemic.

Gutierrez was also referring to streaming giant Netflix’s “Designated Survivor” series starring Kiefer Sutherland, where he played a lower-level cabinet member who suddenly became president after the president and most of his Cabinet were killed during the State of the Union address.

But the former lawmaker reminded that the Philippines, unlike the United States, has no presidential succession law that would appoint a designated survivor.

“We don't have a presidential succession law in PH unlike in the US. Kaya walang konsepto ng designated survivor sa batas natin (There is no concept of designated survivor in our law),” he said.

“Isa pang abogado na mukhang nasobrahan sa Netflix at kinulang sa Saligang Batas (Another lawyer that watched too much Netflix and lacked knowledge of the Constitution),” Gutierrez added.

In 2020, former senator Panfilo Lacson called for the passage of a “Designated Survivor” legislation to prevent a leadership crisis in cases where the president and other high-ranking members of the government become incapacitated.

Presently, the line of presidential succession includes the Vice President, the Senate President, and the House Speaker.

On Thursday, July 11, the Vice President said that she won’t attend Marcos’ SONA and was appointing herself as the “designated survivor.”