VP Sara on SONA: Sayang ang data, babasahin ko na lang

Vice President Sara Duterte said she had no plans to watch President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Duterte said she found SONA a waste of mobile data and that she would rather read the contents of the speech afterward, according to a report on Unang Balita on Monday.

“Sayang ang data. Ayaw ko na rin manood kasi… Nati-trigger ako 'pag nakikinig ako sa kanya.  Babasahin ko na lang. Kailangan natin magbasa, kasi kailangan natin malaman kung ano na namang pambobola ang sinasabi sa taong bayan,” she said.

(It's a waste of data. I don't want to watch it either because... I get triggered when I listen to him. I'll read it instead. We need to read, because we need to learn what flattery he's been saying to the people.)

She also questioned several of Marcos’ projects, including flood control and the administration’s position on the West Philippine Sea.

Duterte attended a Filipino community gathering in South Korea to call for the release from detention of her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte. The elder Duterte is currently detained in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Earlier, the Vice President had claimed that she would not be attending the SONA 2025.

The Palace said that it was her choice, and that they had still extended the invitation to her office should she change her mind.

Aside from Sara, Senator Imee Marcos and other Duterte-allied politicians also said that they will not attend the SONA.

In 2024, Sara was also not in attendance at Marcos’ 3rd SONA, stating that she named herself as the “designated survivor.” —Jiselle Anne Casucian/KG, GMA Integrated News