VP, minority bloc senators snub Sona
This year’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) featured a number of notable no-shows, among them Vice President Sara Duterte, who was abroad; former Speaker Martin Romualdez; and members of the minority bloc, except Sen. Camille Villar.
Sen. Robin Padilla on Monday said he would not attend President Marcos’ fifth Sona—not as an expression of disagreement, but because of a “family affair.”
But Padilla, who also skipped last year’s Sona as a protest against the detention of former President Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court in the Hague, the Netherlands, went on to explain that he wanted to avoid a situation where he would have to remain silent and seated while others applauded the President’s speech.
“I would be offending the President of the Philippines, who is my friend, if others clapped and stood up and I didn’t,” said Padilla.
Padilla’s ally, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, earlier said he would rather watch the Sona on TV as a protest against the administration.
Unresolved issues
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri on Monday admitted that unresolved issues, including the Senate’s leadership disputes, continued to affect the relationships between members of the majority and minority blocs in the upper chamber.
“There are still some who have been sulking at each other. That’s what I’m trying to fix now,” Zubiri told reporters at the sidelines of the opening of the second regular session of the 20th Congress.
The leadership crisis in the Senate ended after Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian secured the votes needed to be formally elected Senate President during a special session of Congress on June 17, removing Cayetano from the position.
‘Never gonna happen’
Duterte, on the other hand, has dispelled rumors that she would resign midway through her impeachment trial.
“Never gonna happen. I will not resign because that would be a betrayal of the 32.2 million of our countrymen who voted for me,” said the Vice President in a recorded chance interview posted on social media.
Instead, she directly challenged President Marcos: “If BBM (Bongbong Marcos) wants to, he can remove me. He can do everything to remove me.”
Duterte’s defense team also earlier disputed the rumors, saying that resignation had never been discussed between them and their client.
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