VP Sara Duterte Belittles Marcos' SONA, Cites Unfulfilled Promises

MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Sara Duterte has sharply criticized President Ferdinand Marcos' State of the Nation Address (SONA), declaring that promises remained unfulfilled. She specifically pointed to the failure to jail individuals implicated in corruption by the end of 2025, urging the public to be realistic. Speaking in The Hague, Netherlands on Monday, Duterte stated, "Don’t expect the... former speaker or members of the House of Representatives to go to jail. Let’s just go back to P20 per kilo of rice." She explained that the P20 per kilo of rice was one of two conditions she requested when she agreed to become Marcos' running mate in the 2022 elections. "Did he fulfill it or not? Someone will be imprisoned before Christmas. Was it fulfilled or not? Why do you still believe it and watch the SONA?" the Vice President added. Furthermore, she mentioned that another unfulfilled condition from the President was a request "for something I needed to do every night for my children because they were still young." Duterte also commented that the President's "mahiya naman kayo (have some shame)" remark in last year's SONA backfired since he signed the national budget despite numerous insertions. The Vice President, who is currently facing trial for betrayal of public trust and misuse of funds, accused the administration of planning to stay in power beyond 2028. "We do not know if we still have a country by 2028. And at the rate that this dictatorship is going, we do not even know if there will be elections in 2028," she stated. Meanwhile, numerous state officials, public works engineers, and contractors implicated in the flood control controversy are already in jail, and authorities are gathering evidence and preparing cases against more officials. Separately, Kabataan party-list Rep. Renee Co described the Marcos administration as incompetent, lamenting that Filipinos still languish in poverty despite achievements laid out in Monday's SONA.