Plenary of the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City. Photo by Noel CELIS / AFP
MANILA, Philippines — The first State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will feature all 315 members of the House of Representatives and 24 from the Senate, the House secretary general said on Monday.
According to House Secretary General Mark Llandro Mendoza, they are currently preparing for the Sona, which will take place on July 25 at the Batasang Pambansa Complex. He said that they are currently fine-tuning some aspects regarding the preparation.
The Batasang Pambansa Complex would also be in total capacity for legislators and members of the Diplomatic Corps, Mendoza noted.
“We’re on track naman. May mga kaunting fine tuning na lang kami na ginagawa. We’ll be having a meeting siguro late this week, coordination meeting with the interagency, coordinating naman para sa task force natin for Sona. Pero so far we’re okay,” Mendoza told reporters.
(While we are doing a few fine-tuning, we’re on track. We’ll be having a meeting probably late this week, coordination meeting with the interagency, coordinating too for the task force for Sona. But so far we’re okay.)
“Yes full capacity tayo, face to face na ang gagawin natin. So we’re expecting 315 members to be present plus the 24 senators to be there. Members of the Diplomatic Corps lahat ng invited guest natin sana makadalo,” he added.
(Yes, we will do a face-to-face, in full capacity [event]. So we’re expecting 315 members and the 24 senators to be present. Hoping all the invited guests from the Members of the Diplomatic Corps would also attend.)
This would be the first time since 2019 that Congress would feature a full-capacity Sona after attendance in 2020 and 2021 were limited due to health protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Select media outfits would be allowed to be inside the plenary hall, as House guidelines said that slots would be raffled to covering reporters. However, Mendoza clarified that space would be limited as the total capacity of the gallery would be around 1,200 persons.
He said that holding areas where reporters can monitor the Sona would be provided.
“Sobrang limited ng space natin ngayon sa plenary dahil lumiit yung gallery natin so parang limited din lang. ‘Yong i-aallow sa media pero parang may usapan na yata na ido-draw lots ata,” Mendoza explained.
(We have limited space in the plenary since the gallery became smaller. We will allow media [to cover] but we will draw lots for the media [who can cover the event inside the plenary hall].)
“Pero ano naman mag-kakabit naman tayo ng mga… may mga holding areas din naman at the same time yung north at south lobbies naman you can cover them […] Well yung sa gallery, ako average ko talaga, total capacity ano siguro mga 1,200. Estimate, lahat na ’yon, pati na sa plenary kasama,” he added.
(We will set up holding areas while north and south lobbies can be covered [by reporters]. As for the gallery and plenary, the estimate is a total capacity of 1,200 [persons].
Marcos will deliver his first Sona on July 25, to report on the country’s state after less than a month since he took office.
Marcos was inaugurated last June 30, becoming the 17th President of the Republic of the Philippines 36 years after his father, namesake and late former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr. was ousted from office.
The younger Marcos won by a big margin in the 2022 presidential race, getting over 31 million votes, while his closest rival, former vice president Leni Robredo got 15 million votes.
Last May 25, both houses of Congress proclaimed Marcos and his running mate Vice President Sara Duterte, as winners of the 2022 polls.
READ: Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. is PH’s 17th president