Written by Micah Marie F. Naadat
On Monday, July 24, 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. will deliver his second State of the Nation Address (SONA). The SONA is mandated by the Constitution, but at the same time, also a yearly tradition of the State, so that the citizens can get a point by point explanation of the current situation of the government and where it stands on important issues.
But what are some of the tales that envelope this yearly tradition? Let us take a look at some interesting tidbits about how the SONA has been done by the country’s former chief executives.
1) There was only one instance wherein a President was not able to personally appear before Congress during the State of the Nation Address, and this was when then President Elpidio Quirino was hospitalized in the United States on January 23, 1950. Instead, his SONA was delivered via a radio network broadcast which was aired by local radio stations.
2) When President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr. declared Martial Law on September 23, 1972, Congress was padlocked before it was due to commence its session on January 22, 1973, which was also supposed to be the SONA of then President Marcos, Sr.
3) At the height of the Marcos dictatorship, the SONA was delivered either in Malacañan Palace or at Rizal Park. The term “State of the Nation” was also removed in the 1973 Constitution.
4) When President Corazon C. Aquino assumed office, she delivered her first SONA in the Session Hall of the House of Representatives. This then paved the way for the return of this Constitutional mandate.
5) The longest SONA speech was delivered by President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. in 1969, which was 29,335 words long.
6) President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s final SONA is now considered the longest, following the post-EDSA era. It was delivered for a total of two hours and forty five minutes. He also holds the record for having the most ‘expletive’ SONA, since it was noted that he said ‘28 curse words’ during his 2017 State of the Nation Address.
7) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo holds the record for having the shortest SONA in history. This was her 2005 SONA which was noted to be 1,556 words long only.
8) Only the late President Benigno Aquino III used Tagalog at all six of his presidential speeches.
9) President Jose P. Laurel and Emilo Aguinaldo are the only Presidents who did not deliver a SONA, since it was not required during their tenure.
10) President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.’s second SONA will be the 85th State of the Nation Address in history.
The State of the Nation Address on July 24, 2023 will be broadcasted live from the Batasang Pambansa Complex, and may be viewed across all major television networks and social media news platforms throughout the country.
Cover photo sourced from Official Gazette, courtesy of Malacañang Photo Bureau. All Rights Reserved.
The Barrister 