Felip is listening during the floor sections of the convention, and during Valia's speech is more interested in her delivery and style than the substance. He has not gotten the sense that she has, that the typical commoner of Cheliax is good; they compare rather unfavorably to his limited experience of them in Taldor, Galt, and Mendev.
He is not expecting the riots, and is hosting a party for his children to meet and be met by some of eligible nobility who he got to know a bit better at this day of the convention. Both his daughter at 18 and his son at 16 are available, and so this mixer includes prospects of both genders, who may also get to know each other as well. He's telling stories of adventures in the East when a guard interrupts him with news of gathering crowds.