VP Sara Duterte invited to SONA

MANILA, Philippines — Despite soured relations, Vice President Sara Duterte has been invited to attend President Marcos’ third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 22, an official said yesterday.

Invitations for the SONA have been sent to 2,000 people, including Duterte, and 60 to 70 percent have confirmed their attendance, said House Secretary General Reginald Velasco.

He could not ascertain if Duterte would come.

“I don’t know. I’ll have to check that. But these are traditional invitees. All of the heads of constitutional commissions, Cabinet officials, including the Vice President,” Velasco told reporters.

The seating arrangement would be determined by the inter-agency committee handling the SONA, he noted.

In 2023, First Lady Liza Marcos and Duterte sat next to each other.

On April 19, the First Lady criticized Duterte for laughing when her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, accused the President in January of being high on drugs.

“We received a lot of interest from all sectors, from the government, private, non-governmental organizations, to attend the SONA. We will try our best to accommodate all of them,” Velasco said.

The seating capacity is smaller by 60 slots as bigger chairs will be used, he added.

On June 19, Duterte resigned as education secretary and co-vice chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

She earlier rejected being labeled as leader of the opposition against the Marcos administration.

The Vice President claimed on June 25 that her father and brothers, Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte and Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, intend to run for the Senate in 2025. She said Sebastian would run for president in 2028.

But the former president denied this, saying he was done with politics.