July 28, 2025
MANILA – As President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. prepares to deliver his fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona) on July 28 in Quezon City, one absence will once again be hard to miss.
Vice President Sara Duterte will skip Marcos’ Sona for the second straight year, saying she does not see any significance in the event.
“I do not intend to attend the State of the Nation Address of President Marcos since I don’t think he will be providing anything substantial about our country,” Duterte said in a June interview.
When reminded that attending the Sona is part of her duties as the nation’s second highest official, she responded:
“He is the one with the duty; we have no obligation to listen. We have the right to listen or not to listen. There is no law requiring us to hear the President’s Sona,” she said in Filipino.
Duterte is currently in South Korea and is scheduled to return to the Philippines on the same day as the Sona—effectively ensuring her absence.
In the Philippines’ political culture, where symbolism often weighs as heavily as policy, her absence underscores the current state of national politics: divided, intense, and increasingly personal.
Timeline of the Duterte-Marcos feud
Back in 2021, Marcos and Duterte formed an alliance under the UniTeam banner. The tandem ran for the country’s top posts, presenting themselves as a unifying force from the north and south.
The strategy succeeded. Both won by wide margins in the May 9, 2022 elections, marking the first time in recent history that an electoral tandem captured the presidency and vice presidency.
But the alliance would soon begin to fray.
Duterte recently claimed that Marcos chose her as a running mate only because he feared losing to former Vice President Leni Robredo and her “pink movement.” Many observers trace the rift’s beginning to May 19, 2023, when Duterte resigned as chairperson of Lakas-CMD, a move that followed the demotion of her family’s ally, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, from a House leadership post.
Two days later, Duterte posted a selfie on Instagram with the caption: “In your ambition, do not be tambaloslos.” While she did not name anyone, the expression has since been aimed at Speaker Martin Romualdez, a cousin of Marcos.
With Rodrigo Duterte’s arrest seen as the peak of the feud, exchanges between the Marcos and Duterte camps continue—particularly between Vice President Duterte and Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro, viewed by some as Marcos’ unofficial spokesperson.
Fallout and the 2025 elections
The feud shaped the 2025 midterm elections, with rivalries centered on candidates backed by Marcos and Duterte.
Though the impeachment has stalled due to the Supreme Court ruling, its shadow lingers.
Since her father’s detention at the ICC, Duterte has traveled abroad frequently. She marked her birthday in The Hague in May and joined a rally for his release.
She later flew to Malaysia on June 12 for a “personal trip” and met with overseas Filipino workers. On June 22, she traveled to Australia for another rally, then returned to The Hague on July 5 for extended visiting days. She flew to South Korea for a rally on July 27 and is expected to visit Kuwait on August 8.
Duterte’s next moves
Despite having three years left in office, Marcos now shares political space with an openly defiant vice president whose actions suggest early moves for 2028.
Duterte has not formally announced her plans, saying she will do so in 2026—a year before filing for candidacy. But she confirmed that she already has her father’s blessing to run.
Although absent once again from Marcos’ Sona, Duterte shows no signs of stepping back from the spotlight.
Whether the Marcos and Duterte camps reconcile—or the rift becomes a springboard for a Duterte comeback in 2028—remains to be seen.
But if Philippine politics has proven anything in its 78 years of independence, it is that history tends to repeat itself. /dm