The Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City, where the House of Representatives holds it sessions, will be the venue of the first State of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on July 25, 2022. (Photo from the Facebook account of the House of Representatives)
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang prefers a simpler and traditional State of the Nation Address (Sona) for Monday, according to House of Representatives Secretary General Mark Mendoza who added that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. wants to focus more on addressing the people.
Mendoza on Wednesday was asked about the directions the President gave regarding the Sona — the President’s first — which will be held on Monday at the Batasang Pambansa complex.
“Ang gusto ng Malacañang maging simple lang, at very more on traditional ng Sona. Simple lang talaga ang gusto ni Pangulo at the same time, para maaddress niya rin ng maayos yung ano, no more, wala masyadong glamor, basta simple lang po,” Mendoza said.
(What Malacañang wants is a simple and very traditional Sona. The President wants a simple program, and at the same time, he wants to address the people more, with not much glamor and just a simple program.)
As of now, 1,360 invitations have been sent, with around 80 percent to 70 percent of the invitees already responding. Among those invited are members of the diplomatic corps, former presidents and vice presidents of the Philippines, and incumbent government officials like Vice President Sara Duterte.
So far, former presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo have responded that they will attend the Sona. Invitations have also been sent out to former president Rodrigo Duterte and former vice president Leni Robredo, but they gave no answers.
“We sent out invitations around 1,360 (were) sent out already; we are just waiting for the confirmation lang po, pero around 80-70 percent na,” Mendoza said.
“I think si president Erap nagconfirm na siya, si Ma’am, (former) president GMA will be joining us,” he added. “VP Sara will be here. I think sa morning pa lang she will be here na eh. So the rest (of the) diplomatic corps, Cabinet will also be here. [Ang] mga governors, lahat ng governor also invited; ang mga justices natin will also be here.)
(I think former president Estrada already confirmed. Former president GMA will also join us. VP Sara will be here. I guess she will be here in the morning. So the rest of the diplomatic corps and Cabinet will also be here. The governors all of the governors are also invited. Our justices will also be here.)
Invited individuals who cannot attend physically can join the event through Zoom. Meanwhile, Mendoza said a choir from Ilocos would sing the National Anthem. Movie director Paul Soriano will direct the Sona.
“May Zoom link naman na ibibigay din para doon sa mga hindi makaka-attend, nag yes na aattend, makakapanood pa rin sila via zoom na man,” Mendoza said.
(We have a Zoom link that would be provided to those who cannot attend, or those who said yes but could not participate can still watch the program through Zoom.)
“‘Yong kakanta ng national anthem is a group from Ilocos, choir siya, group sila from Ilocos, the usual naman, yun lang yung additional sa program natin, the rest kung anong nangyari sa previous setups same lang tayo,” he added.
(The national anthem singers are a group from Ilocos, a choir group from Ilocos, the usual addition to our program; what happens for the rest is similar to our previous setups.)
Earlier, Mendoza assured that the House of Representatives is prepared for the Sona, with the plenary hall of the Batasang Pambansa now having a higher seating capacity after being renovated.
When asked how much was spent on the renovations, Mendoza said that over P100 million was used as the plenary hall is already old.
On Tuesday, House Sergeant-at-Arms retired Brig. Gen. Rodelio Jocson said several inter-agency meetings have already been done to iron out several concerns.
READ: House security assures meetings are held to secure Sona 2022