Only fully vaccinated individuals will be allowed to attend SONA

MANILA – An official of the House of Representatives on Monday said only individuals who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 would be allowed to physically attend President Rodrigo Duterte’s last State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 26 at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City.

In an interview with reporters, House Secretary General Mark Llandro Mendoza said SONA attendees would be required to be fully vaccinated, noting that around 350 guests can be accommodated — including lawmakers, Cabinet members, dignitaries and other guests — would be allowed to be physically present in the House.

“Ang ginawa natin kasi, ‘yung mag-aattend ng physically sa SONA, ‘yung papasok, fully vaccinated actually. ‘Yun ang isa sa requirements ng PSG, ni-require ng House. (What we did is that those who will physically attend the SONA should be fully vaccinated. That’s one of the requirements of the PSG that would be required by the House),” Mendoza said.

He also noted that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases increased the allowed operational capacity of the plenary to 30 percent.

Mendoza said the attendees would be required to undergo reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and antigen testing, explaining that the former test would be only for those who would enter the House plenary.

“Hindi naman natin pupunuin ‘yung plenary eh, plenary siguro mga around 60 (We won’t fill up the plenary, maybe around 60 individuals would be allowed inside),” he said.

The Batasang Pambansa will be placed on lockdown starting Friday, the official said.