The 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is scheduled to be delivered this Monday, July 28. This is his fourth SONA since being elected president in 2022. Two more SONAs are scheduled before his term ends in June 2028.
Following the SONA, the 20th Congress, consisting of the Senate and the House, will open. This is also the second time that Vice President Sara Duterte will not attend the SONA. She announced her absence on July 22 while in The Hague, Netherlands, where her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, is being held in prison for crimes against humanity.
This is also the first SONA since Rodrigo Duterte was arrested under the Marcos administration. According to the president, this is part of the country's fulfillment of its obligation to Interpol. Menardo Guevarra, former Solicitor General, is also absent because he was not reappointed. He was replaced by Darlene Berberabe, former dean of the UP College of Law, who is now the new top lawyer of the government.
It has been more than a year since Marcos banned Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) for illegal activities. In the judiciary, he appointed Raul Villanueva on June 9 as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, replacing Mario Lopez. He is Marcos' first appointee to the Supreme Court, most of whom were appointed during the Duterte era.
After his third SONA, he also appointed six justices to the Court of Appeals and four to the Sandiganbayan. He is expected to announce other important plans for the country during this SONA.
