President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (Noel Pabalate/MANILA BULLETIN)

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. will deliver his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 22 at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City.

Here are quick facts about SONA 2024 that will keep you ahead in any conversation:

- Marcos is expected to deliver his speech at 4 p.m., before a joint session by the House of Representatives and the Senate. There will have been 306 House members and 23 senators present for the speech.

- Malacañang's official broadcasting arm, Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM), will handle director duties this year. RTVM also directed the SONA last year.

- Bicolano vocalist Blessie Mae Abagat will sing the Philippine national anthem.

- SONA 2024 is expected to include the “Bagong Pilipinas” hymn and pledge following the singing of the national anthem. 

(Left) Vice President Sara Duterte and (right) President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. (Duterte's Facebook page)

- Vice President Sara Duterte confirmed in an interview that she will not attend the SONA. She earlier resigned as Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary and vice chairperson of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), which marked her exit from the Marcos Cabinet.

- Former Vice Presidents Leni Robredo, Jejomar Binay, and Noli de Castro have notified the House they are not going to attend this year’s SONA.

- Vice President Duterte’s father, former president Rodrigo Duterte has not yet confirmed whether he will attend or not. Former President Joseph Estrada has also not confirmed his attendance.

- Newly-installed Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara will likely make his debut appearance as a member of the Marcos Cabinet at Batasang Pambansa Complex. He recently resigned as senator to take up the position.

- Over 2,000 high-profile guests are expected to attend. These include members of the diplomatic corps, top officials of international organizations, and other dignitaries.

- With this year’s SONA expected to have the highest number of attendees, 502 monobloc chairs would be added inside the plenary hall, which normally seats 1,312 people. This will bump up the seating capacity to 1,814.

- Guests who will not be accommodated at the venue may watch the SONA inside viewing rooms at the Batasang Pambansa. These rooms are able to take in 300 guests, an increase from last year’s 200. 

The plenary hall of the House of Representatives (Dexter Barro II/MANILA BULLETIN)

- The entire event has been allotted a P20-million budget, which includes preparations prior and meals, uniforms, decorations, and other expenses on the day of SONA.

- The Batasang Pambansa recently underwent renovations in preparation for the SONA. The north, south, and rear lobbies were all renovated for the installation of new air conditioning systems, and the lobbies’ respective floor tiles and washrooms were also refurbished.

- The pre-SONA lockdown at Batasang Pambansa will last three days, beginning July 19.

- Over 22,000 police officers will be deployed to various border control points, including around Batasan Complex. At least 6,000 cops will help secure the SONA itself.

- Other security measures include the jamming of mobile phone signals and the declaration of a no-fly zone over Batasan on SONA day.

- Over 1,000 media practitioners have been accredited to cover the event.