VP Sara Duterte calls Marcos' SONA 'waste of Filipino people's time'

Vice President Sara Duterte on Tuesday said the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. was "a waste of time of the Filipino people." "Hindi ako nanood ng SONA like last year. And wala akong planong 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 in an interview conducted in The Hague, Netherlands. Marcos delivered his SONA at 4 p.m. on Monday at the joint session of Congress held at Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City. In his SONA, Marcos called on both chambers of Congress to amend the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) to put a stop to systems loss charges, including an accompanying value-added tax (VAT), from being passed on to consumers, among other items he addressed. The vice president was invited to attend the SONA but she is on a trip abroad from July 16 to 31, according to the Office of the Vice President. Duterte also took a swipe at Marcos, saying he did not fulfill his promises. "Dalawa lang ang hiningi ko eh nu'ng pumayag ako na tumakbo ka-tandem niya bilang kanyang vice president. 'Yung isa du'n, buwan pa lang, hindi na niya sinunod. Wala pang one year. Isa lang 'yon," she said. "Related lang 'yon sa pakiusap ko sa kanya sa kailangan kong gawin gabi-gabi para sa aking mga anak kasi bata pa 'yung mga anak ko. Wala siyang...Hindi niya tinupad," Duterte said. "Sige, sabihin na natin personal 'yan eh. Puwede naman hindi tuparin 'yan no. Fine. Du'n tayo sa bente (pesos) ang (kilo ng) bigas. Tinupad ba o hindi? May makukulong before Christmas. Tinupad ba o hindi?" the vice president continued. "So bakit pa kayo naniniwala...," Duterte said. Asked about her good ratings in recent surveys such as those conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) and Pulse Asia, Duterte said she feels "truly blessed." "On that point I am truly blessed. Favored ako ng Diyos sa ganyan na bagay," the vice president said. "Hindi ako makapag-explain sa mga surveys dahil hindi ko naman alam paano 'yan ginawa o kung sino ang nagpagawa niyan," she said. "Pero lagi lang talaga ang sinasabi ko 'pag merong survey na lumalabas ay nagpapasalamat ako sa patuloy na pagtitiwala ng ating mga kababayan sa akin, sa aking mga kasamahan sa OVP [Office of the Vice President], at siyempre sa aming opisina," Duterte added. A survey conducted recently by SWS after being commissioned by Stratbase Group showed that the trust rating of Marcos declined to 34% while Duterte’s trust rating was stable at 57%. Meanwhile, a Pulse Asia survey conducted in July showed Duterte had a trust rating of 58% while her distrust rating was 27%. Marcos' figures on the other hand were 28% (trust rating) and 51% (distrust rating). —KG, GMA News