Lawmaker asks House SecGen to lift SONA ban on clothes with political statements

MANILA, Philippines — A progressive lawmaker in the House of Representatives has asked the chamber’s secretary general to lift the ban he imposed on clothes with political statements for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address.

Rep. France Castro (ACT Teachers party-list) said in a letter dated Saturday that there are no congressional rules, parliamentary practice, protocol and social norms violated by wearing statement pieces, which the Makabayan bloc that she is part of has traditionally done in past SONAs.

“No such rule has ever been imposed in either House in recent history, given its intrusion into the personal freedom of dress of the Member and, more importantly, the violation of the civil and political rights of the people on whose behalf the House Member sits on the Joint Session,” Castro said.

In a July 20 memorandum, House Secretary General Mark Llandro Mendoza laid down a dress code for attendees at the plenary hall and on videoconference platforms which bars the “wearing of clothes with political messages.”

Rep. Raoul Manuel (Kabataan party-list) likened the ban to Martial Law, which the president’s father and namesake declared in September 1972 resulting in the curtailment of basic human rights like the freedom of speech and assembly.

“This is the first time in recent history that an explicit prohibition is issued. Protests are prohibited, even messages on clothes are prohibited because they’re very afraid of art?” Manuel said partly in Filipino. “They should respect our rights to expression in our little ways.”

In her letter, Castro said the wearing of lawmakers of their advocacies to the SONA, and even during regular session days, is precedented, citing the donning of Indigenous clothing, hijabs and ribbons.

She added that even the wearing of Barong Filipino and Filipiniana dress as prescribed in the dress code “is a political message in itself — one that claims our heritage as Filipinos and our dedication to the Filipino.”