Congress ready for State of Nation Address

MANILA, Philippines—It’s all systems go for  President Benigno Aquino’s State-of-the-Nation Address on Monday, with strict security measures already in place, according to Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.

Belmonte said he expected full attendance from the 285 House members and their invited guests, as well as the 23 Senators.

Also expected to be in attendance are members of the President’s Cabinet and their spouses, members of the judiciary, the diplomatic corps, and religious groups, among others.

Belmonte said the SONA would be a special annual media event which could be heard and watched even worldwide as more than 2,000 media representatives from national, provincial and foreign print, television and radio networks, including the web-media, will be covering the SONA live from the Batasan plenary hall in Quezon City.

“I am gratified by the efforts and close coordination among the concerned agencies of both the national and local governments, the military and police and our own House Secretariat to ensure the success of the SONA,” Belmonte said.

Belmonte said the President’s  message would guide Congress on the government’s legislative agenda in the next five years of the Aquino presidency.

“While we await a clear national direction from the President, we in Congress will continue policy reforms already set during the 2010 SONA,” Belmonte said, adding that most of the President’s 23 priority legislative measures were already in the legislative mill and some have already been enacted into law.

On Monday, Belmonte will formally open the second regular session of the 15th Congress in the morning while Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile will do the same in the Senate.

In the afternoon, the two houses will hold a joint session at the Batasan plenary at 4 p.m. for the President address.

Belmonte said that preparations had been ongoing for weeks under the guidance of the Task Force SONA composed of the House’s key officials and staff, the Senate, Malacañang and the Presidential Security Group, the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Metro Manila Development Authority.

Military and police authorities have declared a one-kilometer “No Fly Zone” over the area of the House of Representatives complex from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. on July 25.

House Secretary General Marilyn Barua-Yap, who co-chairs the Task Force SONA with the Senate Secretary Emma L. Reyes, reminded the public that all business transactions with the House Secretariat and Congressional offices are suspended on SONA Day.