Vice President Sara Duterte | PHOTO: Official Facebook apge of Inday Sara Duterte
She’s not taking any chances.
Vice President Sara Duterte said on Thursday she would be skipping President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s third State of the Nation Address (Sona) on July 22, declaring in jest that she would be the “designated survivor” should catastrophe befall the annual event attended by the country’s top officials.
“No, I will not attend the Sona,” Duterte told reporters in a chance interview in Davao City.
“I am appointing myself as the ‘designated survivor,’” she added.
Duterte made the off-the-cuff comment weeks after quitting her posts as education secretary and as vice chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, effective July 19.
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In the United States, a designated survivor is a government official in the presidential line of succession who is kept distant from others during a gathering, such as the State of the Union Address, to ensure that someone can take over the presidency in a mass casualty event.
3 successors
It is the premise of the hit 2016 drama series and political thriller, “Designated Survivor,” which follows the story of the US housing secretary played by Kiefer Sutherland who becomes president after a devastating explosion at the US Capitol on the night of the State of the Union Address.
As the Vice President, Duterte is Marcos’ direct successor in the constitutional line of succession, followed by the Senate President and the House Speaker.
There is currently no Philippine law on designated survivors.
In 2019, then Sen. Panfilo Lacson filed a bill centered on this successor to ensure “continuity and stability” in government operations in case of a terrorist attack, major disaster, or other circumstances that would render the sitting President and all other successors incapacitated
Under Lacson’s proposal, the most senior senator, the most senior House representative, and a Cabinet member chosen by the President will succeed the Chief Executive in case of his or her death or permanent disability.
‘Not in good taste’
Some House members were not amused by Duterte’s “joke.”
“Given current political tensions, such a joke is not in good taste because the security of the President of the Philippines is not a joking or laughing matter. Great care is taken to ensure the security of the President, especially during the Sona,” said Manila Rep. Joel Chua.
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“With her statement, it seems VP Duterte wants to become the president, and a dictator at that, by eliminating President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as well as the majority of national officials. It is reminiscent of her father’s jokes-cum-threat that resulted in the killing of thousands in his fake drug war,” ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro said.
Speaker Martin Romualdez was silent on Duterte’s joke but had this to say about her decision not to attend the Sona:
“[Every public official] has the prerogative to decide on their attendance at significant events, [the] Sona is a crucial moment for unity and collaboration among our nation’s leaders,” he said. “Our constituents deserve to see their leaders united and focused on the collective good.”