President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte answer questions at the V. Mapa Highschool in Manila on Aug. 4, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File  

MANILA – Vice President Sara Duterte said Thursday she would skip President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s third State of the Nation Address (SONA). 

“I will not attend sa SONA. I am appointing myself as the designated survivor,” Duterte told reporters. 

House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said he would seek official confirmation from Duterte's office regarding her remark. 

“If you notice nakatawa siya so as I’ve said we have to receive official confirmation na talagang hindi siya darating so we’re contacting her office kung ano talaga kasi we cannot rely on social media na posting,” Velasco said.

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House Speaker Martin Romualdez said that while public officials have the prerogative to decide on their attendance at significant events, the SONA “is a crucial moment for unity and collaboration among our nation’s leaders.” 

“It is a time to reflect on our progress, address challenges, and outline our vision for the future. Our constituents deserve to see their leaders united and focused on the collective good,” he said in a statement. 

Meanwhile, former Bayan Muna party-list representative Neri Colmenares sees Duterte's potential absence from the SONA as a “major statement” of her break with the Marcos administration.

“That symbolizes a major departure na talaga sa kanilang supposed Uniteam,” Colmenares said.  

"Ang isang mensahe doon, para sa akin ha, hindi siya naniniwala sa irereport ng presidente sa SONA at may disagreement siya doon sa mga ike-claim na achievement ng Marcos administration, and secondly, complete break na yun sa anumang alyansang nagkaroon sila," he added. 

Duterte resigned from the Marcos Cabinet recently, with tense relations between their families turning into a public rift in recent months.

She gave no clear reason for her move but she leaves her post as education minister ahead of mid-term and local elections scheduled for next year.

Duterte also resigned as the vice chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

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Relations between the Marcos and Duterte families have plummeted in the past two years.

Fronting a rally of supporters in his home city Davao on January 28, former President Rodrigo Duterte accused Marcos of being a "drug addict", while his youngest son Sebastian Duterte said Marcos should resign.

Marcos hit back the next day, claiming that his predecessor's long-term use of the powerful opioid fentanyl had taken a toll on his health.

Marcos on Duterte tirades: 'I think it's the fentanyl'

Neither man provided evidence of the other's alleged drug use.

The former president has also urged the military and police to unseat Marcos if he pursued his proposal to amend the constitution, and threatened to get his southern home region of Mindanao to secede.

Marcos and Sara Duterte had teamed up to a landslide victory in the May 2022 presidential and vice-presidential election.

As vice president, the 46-year-old would take over as president in case Marcos, 66, dies or becomes unable to perform his duties at any time during their six-year terms.

– With reports from Willard Cheng, ABS-CBN News; Agence France-Presse