P3M budget for Sona 'not overspending'

THE House Secretary General said Tuesday that a P3-million budget for the preparations of President Benigno Aquino III's State of the Nation Address (Sona) next month is a modest spending.

“It’s not overspending. You are bringing in almost about 2,000 people. Aside from media coverage teams and congressional staff, it’s very modest,” Secretary General Marilyn Barua-Yap said after her briefing with reporters on the Sona coverage Tuesday.

Yap said the House of Representatives will spend P2.7 billion to P3 million -- the bulk of it which will be spent on food.

Aquino will deliver his third Sona speech at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City on July 23 shortly after Congress opens its third regular session.

Besides congressmen and senators, among the expected guests are former presidents, former members of Congress, and members of the diplomatic community.

Meanwhile, Yap said security on July 23 will be a joint effort of the legislative security of the House and the Presidential Security Group.

“Our security personnel always assume a 100-percent possibility of a threat…That’s the mindset,” she said. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)