Ralph N. Yumul
GOVERNOR David M. Apatang has signed House Bill 24-2 into Public Law 24-9, requiring the governor to deliver the State of the Commonwealth Address no later than March of any year of his term.
Authored by Rep. Ralph N. Yumul, the new law addresses the timing of the SOCA, taking into account “related political concerns such as an impending election.”
In 2022, an election year, the Senate and the House of Representatives separately adopted joint resolutions setting different dates for then-Gov. Ralph DLG Torres’ SOCA. Torres was seeking reelection.
Because the 22nd Legislature failed to adopt a single joint resolution, it was suggested that Torres could instead submit a written SOCA. However, Torres still asked the Legislature to receive his address on Oct. 31, 2022, at the Kensington Hotel.
On Oct. 28, 2022 — two days before his chosen date — Torres announced he was postponing the address, citing “an impasse between both chambers as to the desired date for the joint session.”
Public Law 24-9 also seeks to “establish a straightforward process for scheduling a SOCA in place of traditional methods that can be inconsistently applied” by creating a statutory, yet flexible, process for setting the date — particularly when the SOCA is delivered live.
The law requires the governor to deliver an annual SOCA by March of each year, either live, recorded, or in writing. The governor must give written notice of the proposed date and time to both the Senate president and the House speaker at least 45 days in advance so the Legislature can adopt a joint resolution.
If the Legislature fails to adopt a joint resolution, the governor may submit only a written or recorded SOCA.
“It’s good that there is now a law that imposes a definite date for the SOCA,” said veteran Fabian Indalecio. “There should not be any debate in the future about when the governor should hold it.”
Indalecio had previously voiced concerns about the Senate leadership’s support for holding the SOCA prior to an election.
