Two SONAs, two champions

By Herbert Vego

ONE of the two is our first and only world tennis champion, Alexandra Maniego Eala. But let’s go chronological.

First, let’s focus on the fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28, 2025, where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. lightheartedly lauded the then-Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief General Nicolas Torre III as the country’s “new champion”. It prompted a smiling General Torre to stand up from his seat in the gallery and bow.

Was the recognition in reference to his uncontested, defaulted charity boxing match against acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte on July 27, 2025?

Or was it for Torre’s unprecedented feat in arresting former President Rodrigo Duterte on March 11, 2025, under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for crimes against humanity?

Imagine if Torre had not done that… Then the unfolding impeachment trial of Duterte’s daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, might not have shaped up because of the Dutertes’ strong hold on Congress and local government units at that time.

I have in mind the Senate Resolution No. 144 introduced by Senators Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri and Alan Peter Cayetano on October 1, 2025, which urged the International Criminal Court (ICC) to grant former President Rodrigo Duterte house arrest or interim release due to health and age considerations.

ICC junked it.

Aside from Zubiri and Cayetano, the other senators who signed “yes” to the ICC petition were Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, Robinhood Padilla, Rodante Marcoleta, Jinggoy Estrada, Christopher “Bong” Go, Joel Villanueva, Sherwin Gatchalian, Loren Legarda, Erwin Tulfo, Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and Mark Villar.

Only three — Risa Hontiveros, Bam Aquino, and Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan — voted “no,” making them the only senators mindful of ICC “justice for the EJK victims”.             .

Vicente “Tito” Sotto III and Raffy Tulfo abstained.

Pia Cayetano, Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Lito Lapid, and Camille Villar were absent for whatever unknown reasons.

Let that be food for thought.

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IN his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 27, 2026, President Marcos made special mention of young tennis star Alex Eala, 21, expressing hope that her international success will inspire more Filipinos to engage in tennis competitions.

Earlier, on July 13, 2026, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos had hosted a homecoming reception and dinner at Malacañang for Filipina tennis star Alex Eala, honoring her historic run at the Wimbledon Championships where she reached the Round of 16.  Marcos presented Eala with a special citation recognizing her as the first Filipino woman to achieve major milestones in professional tennis. He vowed full government backing for Eala’s future international competitions

Considering her ranking, 29^th in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) list, what would happen next was beyond imagination.

And then a miracle happened: As everybody now knows, Alex Eala finally won her first WTA Tour championship on August 3, 2026,, in Washington, DC. by literally “zeroing” the United States’ best, Jessica Pegula, in the third set—6-0.

The first and second sets (4-6, 6-4) went to Pegula,

In the same competition, Eala had earlier eliminated No. 2 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine (6-3, 6-4), No. 3 seed Naomi Osaka of Japan (6-4, 6-2), No. 7 seed and defending champion Leylah Fernandez of Canada (6-2, 7-6 and 2024 Paris Olympics champion Zheng Qinwen of China (4-6, 6-4, 6-1) on her way to the final.

Alexandra “Alex” Eala was born in Quezon City on May 23, 2005 into a sports-minded business couple. Dad Mike Eala is a business executive and former tennis player. Mom Rizza Maniego-Eala was chief financial officer of Globe Telecom until her retirement in 2024. Brother Miko also plays competitive tennis.

Alex moved to Spain at age 13 to train in tennis full-time at the Rafa Nadal Academy with full financial support from her parents.

Sad to say, there is nothing on record to show that the Philippine government funded her training in tennis competitions here and abroad.