THE Presidential Security Group (PSG) conducted an inter-agency meeting to discuss preparations related to safety and security for the first State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on July 25, 2022.
The PSG also shared pictures of the meeting in its official Facebook page.
“This is in line with the guidance of the PSG Group Commander, Colonel Ramon Zagala, PA to ensure the safety and security of the President, to include all the attendees and the whole event itself,” as stated in the PSG post.
The meeting was presided over by PSG Task Force SONA 2022 Commander Col. Nelson Aluad together with the core group.
Those who attended the meeting came from various agencies and security units of government under the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection, Philippine Coast Guard, Manila International Airport Authority, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Department of Health. and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency.
A series of ocular, walk-through, and inter-agency coordination will be held until the actual day of the SONA, according to the PSG.
The SONA is an obligation under the Philippine Constitution and is a yearly tradition wherein the President will report on the country’s state of affairs and also state the government’s agenda for the coming year, and will suggest proposed measures for the consideration of Congress.
The 1987 Constitution has set the fourth Monday of July as the date of the SONA every year.
The SONA also marks the start of a new regular session of Congress.
During the last two SONAs of former President Rodrigo Duterte, visitors needed to show proof of vaccination and negative COVID-19 test results through Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) two days before the event.