President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s first ever State of the Nation Address (SONA) will be held at full, face-to-face capacity on July 25, 2022.
House of Representatives Secretary-General Mark Llandro Mendoza made this announcement Monday, July 4 on the sidelines of the second day of the executive course on legislation for new members of the 19th Congress.
"Yes full capacity tayo, face-to-face na ang gagawin natin (we're at full capacity and we'll do it face-to-face)," Mendoza told reporters.
"So we’re expecting all 315 members to be present plus the 24 senators to be there. Members of the diplomatic corps, lahat ng invited guest natin sana makadalo (hopefully all our invited guests can come)," he said.
Former President Rodrigo Duterte's last two SONAs (2020, 2021) were held in a hybrid or mixed live and virtual set-up due to the limitations caused by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
https://mb.com.ph/2022/07/21/quick-facts-sona-2022/
The SONA is traditionally held via joint session between congressmen and senators at the Batasang Pambasa Complex, home of the House of Representatives.
Mendoza said the current estimated capacity of the plenary hall along with the gallery is 1,200 people.
He bared that the gallery size has been reduced; as such, the number of media practitioners to be allowed inside the plenary would be "limited".
But the House official assured reporters that holding areas would be set up within the Batasang Pambansa Complex to facilitate media coverage.