CAMIGUIN Rep. Jurdin Jesus Romualdo on Friday said he wishes that Vice President Sara Duterte would show more interest in observing proper decorum and tradition than in activities like watching Netflix and cracking jokes about it.
This, after the Vice President announced that she wouldn’t be attending President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr.’s third State of the Nation Address (SONA) this coming July 22 in Batasan Pambansa Complex, home of the House of Representatives.
VP Duterte claimed she was the ‘designated survivor” of the event, which was about the once-popular Netflix thriller series.
“Vice President Sara Duterte should be more cautious with what she says. After all, she is still a public official, and Netflix is not a good basis for her actions or inactions,” the lawmaker said.
Through her joke, Vice President Duterte implied that she is the desired survivor should disaster strike the SONA.
“Does she have a premonition of the things to come? She should refrain from watching too much Netflix. Her joke could have been better handled given that all high-ranking officials of the land would be there,” the House leader said.
“In the decades worth of SONAs that we’ve had, nobody has ever flaunted being the ‘designated survivor’ and used it as the excuse to skip the important event. Proper decorum and tradition say that the Vice President should be there in plenary at Batasan to hear the good President’s report to the nation,” he said.
“This is among the political instances that take a backseat to transparency and unbridled communication with the public. Vice President Duterte’s predecessors did this with no issue while in office. One would think that she would also strive to achieve that standard,” he added.
President Marcos will deliver his SONA before a joint session of Congress. Local and foreign dignitaries are expected to grace the event.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez has said that the SONA is crucial for unity and collaboration among the nation’s leaders. The Vice President will miss this opportunity if she chooses not to attend.
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