Batasan plenary hall redesigned to accommodate 315 House members

MANILA, Philippines — The huge Batasang Pambansa plenary hall had to be renovated to make it even larger and accommodate the 315 latest members of the House of Representatives, since it was originally designed for a maximum of only 150 lawmakers.

“It’s been getting smaller, that’s why we had to have a new setup for the session hall. I think it was designed for 100 or for 150 members only,” House Secretary-General Mark Llandro Mendoza said, referring to the Marcos Sr.-era complex in Quezon City.

The building, which now serves as the House where congressmen deliberate on priority bills of every administration, was built during the regime of President Marcos’ father.

“Right now, we have around 315 House members in the incoming 19th Congress (July 2022-June 2025). So, it’s really a bit cramped. We had to renovate to make more space,” Mendoza, a former Batangas congressman, told “The Chiefs” program on Cignal TV’s One News channel on Wednesday.

He said cost of the renovations and improvements reached about P100 million, but the new design of the plenary hall can now accommodate about 350 legislators.

The downside, however, is that portions of the galleries for the public who want to witness legislative proceedings had to be sacrificed because space had to be made for 50 more congressmen.

Mendoza explained that if in previous State of the Nation Addresses (SONAs), each congressman had a place in the gallery for four companions; now, each lawmaker can only have one seat reserved in the gallery for a guest.

For the President’s SONA on Monday, he said invitations had been sent out for a total of 1,365 guests.

“We can accommodate the 1,300 plus guests, and yes we will have distancing too. In the plenary, we will be observing that, although in our seating capacity, it might be a little more tight,” said Mendoza, noting that 70-80 percent on the guest list have confirmed their attendance.

The outgoing House official, who will reportedly be replaced by Reggie Velasco, also revealed that the plenary hall is now “elevated” to make the House majority leader more conspicuous, and that it now looks like a “half moon or amphitheater.”