ON July 25, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is set to deliver his first State of the Nation Address (SONA). The address of President Duterte will be the 78th since 1935 and the 30th since the restoration of democratic rule under the Fifth Republic in 1987.
The SONA is a constitutional obligation, required by Article VII, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution. “The President shall address the Congress at the opening of its regular session.”
Moreover, Article VI, Section 15 prescribes that the Congress “shall convene once every year on the fourth Monday of July for its regular session.”
The SONA is delivered by the President of the Philippines every year. In the SONA, the Chief Executive reports on the state of the country, unveils the government’s agenda for the coming year, and may also propose to Congress certain legislative measures.
Per tradition, the President appears before Congress upon its invitation, for which purpose a joint session is held in the Session Hall of the House of Representatives.
The usual procedure is that in the morning of Monday, both the House of Representatives and the Senate hold their respective sessions in their respective chambers and elect their officials. Thereafter, a concurrent resolution is filed stating that both chambers are ready to hear the address of the President. Sessions of both Houses are suspended.
In the afternoon, the President is met at Batasang Pambansa, either planeside or car-side, by the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Sergeants-at-Arms of both Houses of Congress. The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces will then escort the President past the Honor Guard.
At this point, the military escort of the President is relieved of duty and replaced by the Sergeant-at-Arms of the House of Representatives, symbolizing the independence of the Legislature. The President is then escorted to the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO), which serves as the chief executive’s office in the House Representatives. The leaders of both chambers traditionally pay a courtesy call on the President in the PLLO.
A Welcoming Committee, appointed by and among peers in both Chambers of Congress, accompany the President into the Session Hall. Upon his entry to the Session Hall, the Speaker of the House announces the arrival of the President, who takes his position between the Senate President and the Speaker of the House. The Joint Session of Congress is thereafter called to order, followed by the singing of the national anthem and the invocation. After which, the President descends to the rostrum to deliver the SONA.
After the message of the President, the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate close the Joint Session of Congress for their respective Chambers.
The SONA marks the opening of each regular session of Congress. The life span of each Congress begins and ends with the election of members of the House of Representatives, who are to serve for three years. The life span of a Congress is subdivided in turn into three regular sessions, each corresponding to a calendar year. (Courtesy PIA)