MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives is awaiting confirmation from the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on whether or not Vice President Sara Duterte will attend President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s third State of the Nation Address (Sona).
In a press briefing, House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said they got word that OVP will send out a letter on Tuesday, although he noted that deadlines are flexible for high-ranking officials.
The deadline to confirm attendance for Marcos’ Sona was last June 25, but Velasco said very important persons (VIPs) can confirm even hours ahead of the event.
“We are still waiting for confirmation from the Vice President, but we heard word that the Office (OVP) will confirm today whether the Vice President is attending or not. So we will just make an announcement on this as soon as we get confirmation from the Office of the Vice President,” Velasco said.
“We have much leeway doon sa mga (for the) VIPs; they can confirm at the last minute or they can cancel at the last minute. That’s the privilege of the VIP guests; we cannot impose any deadline on the VIPs. But for some other guests, we have a strict deadline ‘no; our initial deadline was June 25th, but of course, we’re very flexible with the VIPs and high-ranking officials,” he added.
When asked who among the past high-ranking officials have sent their confirmation, Velasco said three former vice presidents — Leni Robredo (2016 to 2022), Jejomar Binay (2010 to 2016), and Noli de Castro (2004 to 2010) — said that they will not attend.
Vice President Duterte’s father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, has not confirmed his attendance or non-attendance. Velasco added that former President Joseph Estrada has also not confirmed his attendance, while former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo can stay in the legislators’ area, as she is a current representative of Pampanga’s 2nd District.
“We are all inviting these former presidents, former vice presidents, former Senate presidents, and former Speakers. And so far we have not received confirmation from the former President (Rodrigo) Duterte,” Velasco said.
“We’re just waiting for a few other offices, si Vice President, some of the constitutional commissions, Comelec (Commission on Elections), we’re waiting if all the commissioners will be attending, but so far we have confirmation from the Chairman, chairman of COA (Commission on Audit), but we’re not sure whether all the commissioners will be attending,” he added.
Previously, Velasco said that an inter-agency panel would decide on the seating arrangements for the Sona, after being asked what would be the seating plan given the changes in the political landscape due to the Marcos-Duterte rift.
READ: Will VP Duterte, FL Marcos be Sona seatmates again? Panel to decide
In past Sonas, First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and the Vice President were seen seated beside each other. But last April, the First Lady admitted snubbing the Vice President after she attended prayer rallies where President Marcos was called a “drug addict.”
It was the older Duterte who made the claims against Marcos. Then last June 19, Vice President Duterte resigned from her post as Education Secretary and from other roles in the Marcos Cabinet.
Plenary adjustments
Velasco said that while they are in the final stages of preparation for Marcos’ Sona, which will be held on July 22, adjustments will be made to the plenary’s seating arrangement to accommodate guests.
The House official said over 2,000 guests have confirmed their attendance, while the number of seats at the plenary has been adjusted from 1,312 to 1,814.
“Everything is okay. We’re just finalizing the seating arrangements because that’s very crucial, and you know, we had less seats over the plenary by I think around 60 seats, so we’re trying to fix the seating arrangements. And we will be opening some viewing rooms for the additional guests that we have because the confirmations for the Sona have been overwhelming,” he said.
“Right now, we’re over 2,000 na eh, and the plenary can just accommodate around 1,500. But we’re trying to have additional chairs at the back of the third and second galleries just to accommodate these numerous requests coming from House members and other agencies […] so we will put an additional 502 seats, so there are 1,814 total seats in the plenary,” he added.
Security measures and renovations are also near completion with less than two weeks before the Sona, Velasco noted.