Only about 350 fully-vaccinated guests will be allowed to physically attend the final State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo Duterte on July 26, House secretary-general Mark Mendoza said yesterday.
“That 350 will already include senators, congressmen, other government officials, and guests,” Mendoza said.
“Only those who are fully vaccinated will be allowed to enter [Batasang Pambansa.] That is one of the requirements of the Presidential Security Group,” he added.
He said the number of attendees has increased from only 50 last year upon the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
“We can increase the audience now because they’re already fully vaccinated. At the same time, IATF relaxed the rules, 30 percent of capacity for the plenary can be used,” Mendoza said.
Vice President Leni Robredo is among those invited to physically attend the event, but Mendoza said his office has yet to receive word whether she would accept it.
Former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, on the other hand, already confirmed her attendance, Mendoza said.
All guests who will enter the plenary will be subjected to RT-PCR, while the rest will have to undergo antigen testing, Mendoza said.
“We will not fill the entire plenary. We will only allow around 60 individuals inside the plenary. The rest will be in the first and second galleries,” he added.
Zoom links would be given to those who will not be able to physically attend the SONA.
