Sara to skip Marcos' third SONA, assigns herself 'designated survivor'

MANILA, Philippines — After weeks of speculation, Vice President Sara Duterte confirmed Thursday that she will snub President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s third State of the Nation Address (SONA), the first time she has done so since the start of their terms. 

"No, I will not attend the SONA. I am appointing myself as the designated survivor," Duterte said in an ambush interview at the sidelines of an event in Davao City.

In the United States, a designated survivor is a person in the presidential line of succession who is deliberately kept separate from others during big events to ensure someone survives to assume the presidency in case of a disaster. 

The Philippines follows the constitutional line of succession to the presidency, where if the president is unable to fulfill their duties, the vice president assumes office, followed by the Senate president and the speaker of the House of Representatives. 

House Secretary-General Reginald Velasco said that he has yet to receive a formal notification from Duterte about her attendance on July 22.

Duterte was also absent in the opening ceremony of the Palarong Pambansa 2024 on July 9, where Marcos delivered a speech. Later, Department of Education Spokesperson Michael Poa said Duterte instead opted to visit injured student-athletes at a hospital to "boost their morale."

The Palarong Pambansa opening event marks one of the last engagements Duterte has as DepEd chief, a position she resigned on June 19. Marcos said his former 2022 election running-mate did not provide a reason for her resignation and merely asked "not to talk about it."

Around two months before Duterte's resignation, Marcos dismissed lawmakers' calls for Duterte to be replaced as education secretary, saying instead that he would only replace his Cabinet secretaries if they "don't do their jobs properly." 

The Marcos and Duterte families and their allies have been publicly at odds since 2023 after Congress rejected the vice president's request for confidential and intelligence funds, on top of apparent disagreements over Marcos' approach to China's aggression in the West Philippine Sea. 

At one point, former president Rodrigo Duterte and Marcos publicly accused each other of misusing illegal substances. First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos has also admitted that she and the vice president are no longer on good terms due to the vice president's attendance at the public rallies held by Duterte's supporters against Marcos.