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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Full alert as SONA unfolds

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President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his fifth State-Of-The-Nation Address (SONA) Monday in a world drastically changed by a pandemic, highlighted by the 50-person limit at the House of Representatives Session Hall where he will speak.

SONA PREPARATIONS. House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano takes the nose swab for anti-virus test administered by health workers as a prerequisite to those attending the 5th State of the Nation Address to be delivered by President Duterte at the Plenary Hall of the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City, At the Senate (lower photo), members of the secretariat inspect barriers that will be placed in-between seats designed to provide protection to senators and employees from exposure to the COVID-19. House/Senate photos

Despite the limited attendance this year, 5,400 police officers and 1,900 members from allied security agencies will be providing security.

In an interview with radio dzBB on Sunday, PNP deputy chief for operations Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said the augmentation force will come from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, the military's Joint Task Force-National Capital Region, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Bureau of Fire Protection and the Department of Public Order and Safety of Quezon City.

READ: ’Hybrid’ joint session set for Rody's SONA

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He said the entire PNP nationwide will be on full alert for Monday's activities, though they have yet to monitor any threats.

Eleazar added that a security challenge during Monday's SONA is the implementation of the health guidelines issued by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on mass gatherings.

He said the SONA-related protests will be held inside the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman after the Quezon City local government did not issue any permit to the militant groups for mass gatherings along Commonwealth Avenue, the usual venue for SONA rallies.

 

READ: Duterte SONA to bare recovery roadmap amid pandemic effects

Earlier, the Department of the Interior and Local Government reminded the city of the prohibition on mass gatherings to avoid the spread of COVID-19.

In a press conference on Sunday, National Capital Region Police Office director Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas said the NCRPO will maintain the full alert status being implemented since March following the imposition of the enhanced community quarantine.

Sinas said at least 30 bomb-sniffing dogs will also be deployed in Metro Manila including the UP campus, Senate of the Philippines in Pasay, and the House of Representatives at the Batasang Pambansa complex.

Sinas said there will be no traffic rerouting scheme along Commonwealth Ave. since protest actions are not allowed in the area.

Meanwhile, DILG Undersecretary and spokesman Jonathan Malaya reminded the public to avoid mass gatherings like protest rallies to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

READ: MMDA to motorists: Brace for traffic in QC

“We appeal to the rally organizers not to compromise the health and welfare of the people. We ask them not to be blind to the scientific evidence that mass gatherings are the fastest way for the virus to spread among their ranks, which can then infect their families and ultimately their communities,” he added.

As in his four previous SONAs, Duterte is set to deliver his address at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City but with only 50 persons allowed to attend the event due to the COVID-19 threat.

Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar, however, said Duterte might deliver his SONA at the Malacañan Palace in Manila, in case one of those invited to attend the annual event at the Batasang Pambansa tests positive for COVID-19.

Duterte is expected to tackle the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as his priorities in the remaining two years of his administration.

Protest actions will proceed on Monday during President Rodrigo Duterte's penultimate State of the Nation Address (SONA), an activist group said on Sunday despite a ban on mass gatherings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Also on Sunday, Renato Reyes Jr., secretary-general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) urged protesters to wear face masks and observe physical distancing at the protest rally, which will be held in UP Diliman in Quezon City, from 10 a.m. to noon.

“They cannot use the IATF guidelines to brush off our constitutional rights,” Reyes said in Filipino. “We'll file charges against policemen who sow trouble in our peaceful gathering tomorrow.”

READ: MMDA men gird for SONA, heavy traffic

“Our physical distancing measures are better than government's implementation at the Rizal Coliseum,” Reyes said, referring to the more than 9,000 locally stranded individuals who are waiting there for transportation to take them to their home provinces.

Reyes said among issues groups will protest are government's supposed failure in addressing the pandemic, its lack of economic assistance, its prioritizing of the anti-terror law's passage and ABS-CBN shutdown, and its submission towards China and the US.

“The protest action is justified in the midst of the suppression of our rights. The people are mad at the policies of the government and its shortcomings,” he said.

The protest action will feature a virtual effigy this year, a first in its annual tradition, Reyes said.

“The diorama will feature the people uniting to burn the 'veerus' in Malacañang,” he said, making fun of the way the President pronounces the word “virus.”

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said the House will likely hold a hybrid joint session–some of the legislators in actual attendance at the Session Hall and the rest in their homes or offices through teleconferencing–with the Senate when President Duterte delivers his address.

Cayetano said the “blended” SONA would be similar to the teleconference-type sessions done by the House, with a limited number of guests actually present and the rest attending through a teleconferencing computer application.

He said the House must adapt to the situation brought about by the pandemic since a vaccine to prevent the disease has yet to be developed.

A House announcement said that attendees from the chamber will be required to undergo swab testing at the entrance on the day itself in addition to rapid testing for COVID-19 on the eve of the event.

Those who test positive in either of the COVID-19 tests will no longer be allowed to enter the Batasan complex.

After the morning session which starts at 10 in the morning, Montales said the Plenary Hall will be closed for disinfection. The venue will then be opened by 2 p.m. for those allowed to attend the President's SONA.

Montales said aside from mandatory COVID-19 tests, physical distancing measures and other health protocols will be strictly observed during SONA day. These include wearing face masks, face shields, and other personal protective equipment at all times, putting floor markings at entrances, elevators, and places with foot traffic, providing alcohol and sanitizers, checking of body temperature, disinfection of surfaces, and submission of health declaration forms.

The passage of the proposed Bayanihan to Recover As One Act or Bayanihan 2 is among the priority legislation of the House when the Second Regular Session of the 18th Congress opens Monday.

Cayetano said the House will pass Bayanihan 2 and other fiscal measures to ensure that micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) and banks are provided assistance and opportunities to recover from the financial losses caused by the pandemic.

The 2021 national budget is also a priority legislation, he said.

The Budget department will propose to Congress a P4.506 trillion national budget–an amount higher than the earlier announced P4.3 trillion.

“The budget ceiling has been increased from P4.335 trillion to P4.506 trillion to provide sufficient budget support for programs, activities, and projects that will address the COVID-19 pandemic,” Budget Assistant Secretary Rolando Toledo earlier said in an interview.

Toledo said the 2021 budget will be used for the procurement of PPEs (personal protective equipment) and COVID-19 vaccine when one is available, basic education programs of the Department of Education to ensure learning continuity, and programs that support information and communication technology requirements for network connectivity and digital technology.

Senators who will attend the SONA will undergo a rapid test for COVID-19 before entering the Batasan.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said they had also submitted themselves to a swab test at the Senate on Sunday.

Those who will go with him to the Batasan are Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Senators Francis Tolentino, Christopher Go, Ronald dela Rosa, Sherwin Gatchalian and Pia Cayetano.

Sotto said he expects 18 senators will be physically present at the Senate Session Hall when Congress opens 10 a.m. Monday.

According to Sotto, the approval of the proposed Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, or Bayanihan 2, on the third and final reading will be the Senate’s top priority once session opens. It was left hanging when Congress adjourned sine die in June.

The measure provides for the country’s COVID-19 response and recovery plan and a P140 billion standby fund.

The second regular session of the 18th Congress will open a few hours before Duterte delivers his SONA.

Senators said they want to hear the President talk about his plans to combat COVID-19.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said he believes the people are not looking forward to soaring oratory or even in bold strokes.

“What they want to hear is the to-do list in a wartime SONA that will spell out the battle plan against the pandemic. Specifically, they want a granular SONA, and if I may suggest, a 30-day plan on how to prevent this pandemic from reaching a dangerous tipping point, from now until Aug. 31,” Recto said.

He said this is the flatten-the-curve plan that will stabilize and reverse the spike in cases, and improve all the important numbers on the country's economic report card.

“I think that is the end-of-the-tunnel light our people have earned the right to see after enduring one of the world’s longest and toughest quarantines,” Recto said.

Senator Risa Hontiveros said the President's penultimate SONA should inform the public on how the government intends to solve the most pressing problems faced by Filipinos today starting with the COVID-19 pandemic, as infections continue to rise and spread in many parts of the country. She said the SONA should also show how the government plans to restore the economy and help the millions of Filipinos who have lost their jobs and businesses during the pandemic.

Senator Nancy Binay also said she expects the President to focus on the government’s realistic action plans on what it will do in the following months to battle the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public health and the economy. With Benjamin Chavez

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