MANILA, Philippines — Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin yesterday confirmed he and a majority of the Supreme Court (SC) magistrates will attend President Duterte’s fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, his last as chief justice before he retires in October.
“Yes, I will be attending. You know before I became Chief Justice I attended one SONA only but this is the last SONA that I will attend because I will be retiring afterwards. I look forward to the SONA because that is really a national event for all Filipinos and especially for us who are serving the government in one capacity or another,” said Bersamin.
He said a majority of the high court’s justices will be present when Duterte delivers his fourth SONA at the House of Representatives on July 22 because it is part of their official function.
While warning Duterte against including in his speech the reported verbal agreement with China allowing Chinese fishermen in Recto Bank, Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio will, however, again skip this year’s SONA. – Helen Flores, Cecille Suerte Felipe