Quezon City's Batasang Pambansa Complex, home of the House of Representatives and the site of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 25, is now on lockdown.
This "pre-SONA lockout period" began on Thursday, July 21 and will last up to Sunday, July 24, according to a memorandum issued by House Secretary General Mark Llandro Mendoza.
"Only authorized personnel will be allowed entry to the House of Representatives (HRep) premises. For this purpose, heads of secretariat offices shall submit to the Office of the Secretary General (OSG) the names of their essential personnel, with corresponding HRep ID numbers, who will report for work on the lockout days," the memo read.
"During the lockout dates, the Presidential Security Group (PSG) will be conducting K-9 security sweep of all congressional offices. The offices will be sealed and will be made available for use again on 25 July 2022," it added.
Marcos is expected to deliver his SONA in the plenary hall of Batasang Pambansa before a joint session of Congress at around 4 p.m. Monday.
The memo further said that, on SONA day, "There will be a one-kilometer radius "no fly zone" over the area of the House of Representatives Complex (Batasang Pambansa) from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives Administrative Department is racing to have all the needed printed materials accomplished before the SONA.
As of this posting, mainstream media have yet to be given their invitations, IDs, and car passes for the event. The media registration for coverage ended on July 8.
"The House is expecting more guests this year compared to the past two SONAs, which had fewer guests due to COVID-19 restrictions. While the Printing and Reproduction Service is determined to finish its job by Saturday, Avenido said that their office would be open over the weekend to be able to accommodate last-minute printing requests," a separate advisory from the House read.