Congress to stick to P2.7M budget for Aquino’s SONA in July

President Benigno Aquino III

MANILA, Philippines—The House of Representatives said Tuesday it won’t overspend and will keep the same budget of P2.7 it spent last year for President Benigno Aquino III’s third State of the Nation Address, or SONA. This year’s SONA will take place on July 23, Monday.

Marilyn Barua-Yap, the House’s secretary general, said last year’s budget for the President’s SONA was P2.7 million, adding that they would maintain that budget or would not go beyond P3 million.

She said the bulk of the budget goes to food served to the guests, who include diplomats and heads of government agencies. Yap stressed that the amount was not considered overspending and was in fact quite modest.

“You’re bringing in some 2000 people aside from the media and the staff of the Senate and House of Representatives—it’s very modest,” she esplained.

Yap admitted that the plenary hall can accommodate only 1,200 persons and that having 2,000 would mean “siksikan na iyan (really packed).”

The 285 congressmen and 23 senators are each allowed to have three companions joining them during the SONA, she added.

The House has been through its third coordination meeting with members of the media to thresh out details for their coverage of the big event.

Responding to reporters’ complaints that preparations for Aquino’s SONA last year made media coverage difficult, Yap said they were working to ensure effective coordination between the House security personnel and the Presidential Security Group (PSG).

She cited complaints of some members of the media who were not allowed to return to the plenary hall by security teams and reasoned that the PSG took over security measures once the President has stepped inside the House of Representatives.

This time, the House is setting up a central communication center for streamlined coordination during the event. Yap said that this will be activated on the eve of the SONA as journalists prepare for their coverage the next day.