Not only would she be skipping President Marcos’ third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 22, but Vice President Sara Duterte won’t even watch the speech on television or mobile gadgets.
Vice President Sara Duterte (Photo from Inday Sara Duterte Facebook page)
This was contrary to her earlier comment that she will be monitoring the SONA at the Office of the Vice President’s (OVP) headquarters in Manila.
“The Vice President will not watch the SONA on TV or gadgets,” a statement from the OVP said an hour before Marcos delivered his address to the nation.
Instead, the Vice President went to Bohol to condole with Boholanos for the death of Vice Governor Dionisio Victor Balite.
This was despite saying earlier that she planned to be in Manila during the SONA, though she also shared that her schedule for the day was not finalized yet.
According to the OVP, Duterte went to Bohol “to uplift the general mood of the people brought about by the suspension of their duly-elected local officials.”
The statement was referring to the preventive suspension for six months of Bohol Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado and 68 other public officials, including town mayors and local heads of national agencies, by the Ombudsman over the construction of a controversial resort near the famous Chocolate Hills.
Duterte was also celebrating the Bohol Day with the Boholanos.
“It is also Bohol Day today, which makes it an opportune time for the Vice President to bring a message of hope — na may Diyos na nagbabantay sa atin, at sa pamamagitan ng pagtutulungan at pagsisikap, magagawa nating ayusin ang Bayan muli (that God watches over us, and by helping one another and persevering, we can fix the country again),” the statement read.
The Vice President did not specify a reason for skipping the SONA, though she earlier admitted to “personal” and “work” issues with Marcos.
The Chief Executive is expected to take the podium at the Batasang Pambansa at 4 p.m. for his third SONA.
High-ranking officials and the diplomatic corps will attend the SONA.