BBM writing his own SoNA message
“He’s the one writing his SoNA message, and he will be very busy,” Rodriguez told select members of the Malacañang Press Corps in an interview at his office.
“Yesterday, we tried to relax already his schedule so he can write but there is still a lot to do,” he added, noting that Marcos intends to finalize his message hours before his SoNA.
Marcos’s message will focus on his plans for the country’s economic recovery, resumption of face-to-face classes, food security, and the government’s Covid-19 pandemic response.
“The general themes you can also get it from all the — what’s happening for the past three Cabinet meetings. It’s all about our economy, the economic plans. With the face-to-face opening of this coming school year, it’s all about Covid response,” Rodriguez said.
“And when we speak of Covid response, it’s not only about health. It goes all the way to the entire cycle of the economy, not just health, you go to economy, you go into education and so on and so forth,” he added.
Marcos, who concurrently serves as Agriculture Secretary, will also discuss his plans to institute measures that would mitigate the impact of the ongoing food price crisis.
“It (food security) is his thrust, it is his vision for us not only to have food security but food sovereignty — meaning we don’t have to rely on much importation anymore,” Rodriguez said.
“If we can feed ourselves as a nation, and if we can feed ourselves as Filipinos, I think we are on our way to where we want to be, much like where our neighbors are,” he pointed out.
Moreover, the 64-year-old Chief Executive will talk about his priority program which is to improve governance by making transactions in all government agencies more efficient through digitalization.
“In terms of governance, he wants to see a digitalized governance and digitalized PBBM administration,” Rodriguez said.
Marching order
Marcos has made his marching order to the Department of Information and Communications Technology to “accelerate the build-up of digital infrastructure in the country.”
When asked how long the speech would be, Rodriguez said: “it is a work in progress.”
Meanwhile, the Batasang Pambansa has been placed into a full lockdown as a security measure during the SoNA.
House Secretary-General Llandro Mendoza, in a television interview, said it’s “all systems go” for the historic event.
“We’re all systems go in Batasan. The lockdown was enforced at the House last night (21 July), so now, we are only working on more security preparations,” Mendoza said.
During the lockdown, the Presidential Security Group will be conducting a K-9 security sweep of all congressional offices.
All of the offices will be sealed until 25 July.
Mendoza said of the 1,360 guests invited to the SoNA, 90 percent have so far confirmed their attendance.
Among the key political figures who have confirmed their attendance were former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as well as former President Joseph Estrada.
Meanwhile, former President Rodrigo Duterte and former Vice President Leni Robredo have yet to respond to the invitation.
All guests and congressional staff are required to present their negative RT-PCR Covid-19 test results before entering Batasang Pambansa Complex and must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
The opening of the Third Regular Session of the 19th Congress will be at 10 a.m., followed by Marcos’s “simple and traditional” SoNA at 4 p.m. during a Joint Session by the House and the Senate.
Backpacks, big bags, canned beverages, bottled water, and firearms are prohibited inside the Plenary Hall.
Security forces
At least 21,000 security forces will be deployed on Monday, according to the National Capital Region Office (NCRPO).
Some 16,964 policemen will come from NCRPO, 1,905 from the Philippine National Police (PNP) support units, and 2,974 from coordinating agencies. They are tasked to maintain peace and order in the area and ensure the smooth flow of traffic.
A gun ban was also imposed in Metro Manila from 22 to 27 July.
Maj. Gen. Valeriano de Leon, PNP director for operations, said more checkpoints would be set up at Metro Manila borders, especially in Quezon City, where Marcos will deliver his SoNA at the Batasang Pambansa.