A lawmaker has blasted the recent statements of Vice President Sara Duterte after the Vice President jokingly declared herself as “designated survivor” in what appears to be an attempt to boycott President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 2024 State of the Nation Address (SoNA).

San Jose del Monte Representative Rida Robes criticized Duterte, saying that it was a “bad joke.”

“It is not a bomb joke, but a bad joke, done in poor taste that one would expect from a Marites, and not from the second highest official of the land,” said Robes in a statement. “Tradition dictates that she should be there. Etiquette requires her to be there.”

The lawmaker also slammed the Vice President’s lack of decorum, saying that “decorum does not require her to applaud the President’s speech, but to appear in Congress when it is delivered.”

“There have been many instances in the past when the President and Vice President came from opposing parties, but disagreements are shelved aside for a day when the President renders an accounting of the state of the nation,” Robes said.

“Boycotting the SoNA is not bravery. It is cowardice. Skipping it is not sending a strong statement. It is injecting politics in an event where the people expect all their leaders , the entire officialdom, to be present for a constitutionally ordained event,” she added.