The number of people physically attending President Rodrigo Duterte's final State of the Nation Address next month could increase to up to 200, a House of Representatives official said Tuesday.
The setup of the President's last SONA will be the same as 2020, except that more than 50 people would be allowed inside the Batasang Pambansa plenary hall, House Secretary General Mark Llandro Mendoza said.
"We are looking at around, both houses siguro, around 150 to 200 ang makakapasok sa plenary natin this year. Pero depende pa rin yan sa IATF and at the same time sa [instruction] ng Malacañang," Mendoza said in a virtual interview with reporters.
To accommodate more people while maintaining social distancing, Mendoza said some House members will be seated in the first and second gallery of the plenary hall, while the senators and the rest of the congressmen will be on the ground floor.
Like last year, those who will enter the House premises for the SONA will be required to undergo both RT-PCR and antigen tests, he added.
Organizers are still looking into requiring participants to be fully vaccinated first before being allowed to physically attend the SONA, he said.
The 1987 Constitution requires the incumbent president to address Congress at the opening of its regular session. The 18th Congress will open its Third Regular Session on July 26.
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