Vice President Leni Robredo is not one of the 50 guests invited to physically attend the Batasang Pambansa on Monday to witness President Rodrigo Duterte’s fifth State of the Nation Address.
On Sunday, Robredo revealed that she was indeed invited to hear the President’s address on Monday, but only via Zoom teleconferencing.
“Hindi ako imbitado sa House of Representatives. Na-receive namin na invitation ay Zoom, so iyon ang pupuntahan ko,” she said in her radio show.
[I was not invited to the House of Representatives. I only received a Zoom invitation, so that’s what I’ll attend to.]
Despite this, Robredo emphasized that it is her duty as a public official to hear the address even if only through video conferencing.
“Ito namang SONA, talagang kinlear natin iyong shedule para dito, so dahil hindi naman ako physically na pumunta doon, sa Zoom mag-aattend ako kasi obligasyon natin ito,” she said.
[I really cleared my schedule for the SONA, so even if I’m not there physically, I will still attend via Zoom because it is my obligation.”
Moreover, the vice president expects to hear more concrete plans for the country’s COVID-19 situation as well as accomplishments of the administration this past year.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque previously told CNN Philippines that Duterte will discuss the COVID-19 crisis “in much detail” when he unveils a road map for recovery in his speech.
Over 50 individuals were invited to enter the session hall, including 30 lawmakers and a few Cabinet members, after testing negative for coronavirus in their RT-PCR and rapid tests. Duterte’s son, Deputy Speaker Paolo Duterte of Davao City, is among the invited lawmakers.
