FIVE members of the Senate minority bloc will not attend President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday, July 27, 2026.
As part of their protest over the detention of Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Rodante Marcoleta, Senators Imee Marcos, Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Loren Legarda, and Robin Padilla will skip the Sona, which will be held at the House of Representatives.
Marcos, the Cayetano siblings, and Legarda wore black during the opening of the second regular session of the 20th Congress to express their protest over the detention of Estrada and Marcoleta.
Marcos and Alan Peter Cayetano, however, said they would watch the President’s Sona on television.
“We haven’t all discussed it yet. My preference is probably to just watch it on TV. The administration might also be more comfortable that way, and it’s my simple way of protesting, including wearing black,” Cayetano said in Tagalog.
“Unlike in 1986-87, when there was really a palpable question about democracy. Now, of course, the focus is more on poverty, the economy and corruption. But I really believe that our democracy is in danger and that once you speak out, you immediately become a target,” he added.
Marcoleta is currently under detention on plunder charges in connection with alleged undeclared P75 million worth of election donations, while Estrada was arrested over alleged irregularities involving flood control projects. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)