Vice President Sara Duterte slammed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s latest State of the Nation Address (SONA), calling it a “waste of time” and accusing his administration of failing to fulfill key promises.
Speaking to reporters in The Hague on July 27, Duterte said she neither watched nor planned to read Marcos’ speech.
“Hindi ako nanonood ng SONA like last year and wala akong plano basahin ang nilalaman ng SONA o kahit man lang summary dahil I truly believe it is a waste of time of the Filipino people,” Duterte said.
She also dismissed Marcos’ remarks on corruption and flood control projects, describing them as public relations efforts that failed to address the real issues.
“Wala naman siya napakulong sa flood control scandal eh. At saka, yung sinabi niya na ‘mahiya naman kayo,’ it was a PR stunt na tinali nila yung linya na yun, sa speech niya, na nag-backfire,” she said.
Duterte argued that the President could not distance himself from alleged irregularities in flood control projects because he approved the national budget.
“Dahil ang katotohanan naman kasi talaga, ghost projects yung flood control, kung hindi man unfinished or substandard project. So, sinasabi niya na lang yan ngayon, na parang ako yung nagsabi ng mahihiya naman kayo, para mailayo niya yung sarili niya doon sa flood control scandal. Unfortunately, hindi niya pwedeng gawin na ilayo niya yung sarili niya doon sa corruption sa flood control scandal. Kasi siya yung pumirma ng budget,” she said.
She further claimed that signing a budget despite alleged anomalies could constitute an impeachable offense.
“Yan yung inuulit-ulit ko na… Doon sa pag-file ng impeachment case sa kanya, doon yung impeachable offense doon. Nagpumirma ka ng budget, na alam mo madaming insertions. Na alam mo, yung NEP mo, hindi na siya yung lumabas na GAA. At kahit pa man na nakikita mo na mayroong anomalya doon, pinirmahan mo pa rin yung budget,” she added.
Duterte also questioned Marcos’ previous assurances that officials linked to alleged corruption in flood control projects would be jailed, comparing them to other campaign promises that she said remained unmet.
“Di ba yan din yung sinabi niya last year, bago mag-December, may makukulong na. So meron bang makulong bago mag-Christmas? So huwag niyo na i-expect na makulong. So huwag niyo na i-expect na makulong yang… dating speaker o mga members ng House of Representatives,” Duterte said. “Balik na lang tayo sa 20 pesos ang bigas. Diba?”
She added that Marcos had also failed to deliver on commitments made before they ran together in the 2022 elections.
“Dalawa lang ang hiningi ko eh, nung pumayag ako na tumakbong ka-tandem niya bilang kanyang vice president,” Duterte said.
“Sige, sabihin na natin na personal ’yan eh… Pwede naman hindi tuparin ’yan,” she added. “Doon tayo sa [PHP] 20 ang bigas. Tinupad ba, hindi? May makukulong before Christmas. Tinupad ba, hindi? So, bakit pa kayo naniniwala at nanonood ng SONA?”
Duterte maintained that repeated unfulfilled commitments have given the public little reason to trust the President’s annual address.
