House in final stage of preparations for SONA 2024 – officials

MANILA: The House of Representatives has expressed readiness to host the third State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on July 22. House Secretary General Reginald Velasco made the remark after the third SONA inter-agency meeting held at Heroes Hall, Malacañan Palace on Tuesday. 'We are ready to adjust to accommodate our partners from the Office of the President (OP) and the Senate," Velasco said in a news release on Wednesday. Senate Secretary Renato Bantug said the "lion's share" of the event preparations was handled by the House. Officials from the OP did an initial walk-through of the SONA scenario from the President's arrival to his delivery of the SONA and the aftermath on Monday. House's Inter-Parliamentary and Public Affairs Department (IPAD) Deputy Secretary General (DSG) lawyer Grace Andres said the room designations for all the guests on SONA day were finalized in Tuesday's meeting. DSG Floro Banaybanay of the House's Engineering and Physical Facilities Departm ent said changes were made in the room assignments for "facilitation and easy movement of our guests specially the President, his entourage and his family members." The Philippine National Police, meanwhile, reported it plans to deploy 22,000 policemen in various areas in Metro Manila and nearby surrounding areas for the event. The final meeting for the SONA preparations is scheduled on July 15, 2024. The next session of the 19th Congress will open in the morning of July 22. In the afternoon, the President will deliver his third SONA before a joint session of Congress at the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City. Source: Philippines News Agency