Sagada rejects video shoot request for SONA backdrop

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — The municipal government of Sagada in Mountain Province has prevented a movie director and her team from taking video footage of the local scenery, which would be used as backdrop for the upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Duterte.

Vice Mayor Felicito Dula on Sunday wrote Fern Castro, coordinator of the Presidential Broadcast Staff-RTVM, saying the video shoot would violate quarantine protocols imposed by the local government to contain the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19.

Dula told Castro that the municipal government is grateful that their town was chosen to be the background for the SONA.

He expressed regret for having to refuse the request to shoot videos due to the pandemic.

On July 3, Castro reportedly asked the permission of Mayor James Pooten Jr. and the municipal disaster risk and management council to allow a team that included movie director Joyce Bernal to take footage of the local scenery.