Former president and now Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo delivered the shortest State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Philippine history clocking only 25 minutes, a video uploaded by the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said on Sunday, July 23.
(From left) Former presidents Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (Slim Aarons/Getty Images/Rep. Arroyo’s Facebook page)
“Naitala noong ika-25 ng Hulyo 2005 ang pinakamaigsing State of the Nation Address sa kasaysayan ng bansa, na may haba lamang na 25 minuto (The shortest State of the Nation Address in the country’s history was recorded on the 25th of July 2005 that only ran for 25 minutes),” the video reel said.
“Ito’y binigay ni Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo bilang kanyang ika-limang SONA ay naglalaman lamang ng 1,556 na salita (This was delivered by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as her fifth SONA with only 1,556 words),” it added.
Arroyo delivered her fifth SONA shortly after the “Hello, Garci” scandal, which alleged her of cheating during the 2004 presidential elections, came to light.
PCO also revealed that former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. delivered the longest SONA with 29,335 words in 1969.
However, reports showed that former president Rodrigo Duterte’s final SONA became the longest SONA after it clocked two hours and 45 minutes.
Such trivia about SONAs came as President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. prepares to deliver his second SONA on Monday, July 24, at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez said in an earlier interview that the President’s SONA might only last for 45 minutes.
Marcos is Romualdez’s first cousin.
“Obviously, he will give an update. I heard this might just be not more than one hour long, baka (maybe) 45 minutes. I have not seen, I don’t know what he is going to talk about,” he shared.
The first SONA was delivered on Nov. 25, 1935 by President Manuel L. Quezon.
Since then, it was delivered almost every year to report on the country’s progress and plans.
Under Article VII Section 5 of the 1935 Constitution, presidents were mandated to “from time to time give Congress information on the State of the Nation, and recommend to its consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”
Article VII Section 23 of the current 1987 Constitution required that the “President address the Congress at the opening of its regular session.”
