No thanks to a missing car pass, Rep. Ruffino “Ruffy” Biazon (Muntinlupa) was prevented from entering the Batasang Pambansa for President Rodrigo Duterte’s fourth State of the Nation Address.
The congressman in a tweet said he introduced himself to the security detail at the assigned gate for members of the lower chamber but was still refused entry.
No car pass, no entry at Batasan. I was refused entry into the gate for members of the house because I didn’t have a car pass. I introduced myself but security said those were the instructions. I just arrived last night from a trip abroad so I wasn’t able to get my pass.
— Ruffy Biazon (@ruffybiazon) July 22, 2019
“The security at the gate was looking for the car pass. I didn’t have it so we weren’t allowed in. I introduced myself but it was no good,” Biazon wrote in a follow-up tweet.
He also said that he was not late for the event.
Other Twitter users were surprised that Biazon, an experienced member of the House of Representatives, was not readily granted a pass to his longtime place of work.
So bawal pumasok ang legit representative ng people of Muntinlupa dahil sa security order. Wow
— manny vargas (@VargasMannysen) July 22, 2019
Meanwhile, there were those who blamed Biazon’s staff for supposedly failing to secure the car pass needed for the highly-anticipated event.
They were just following orders sir. Trabaho ng staff mo yan, sila may pag kukulang jan.
— Botivs (@botivs) July 22, 2019
Biazon admitted that the fiasco was his fault since he forgot the “kit” sent to him prior to the event that supposedly contained the car pass.
The supposed kit was sent to his house from the Muntinlupa district office.
“From Congress office, they sent the kit to my district office which sent it to my house. I arrived the night before SONA and when I left the house (this) early morning, I forgot the kit. My fault,” Biazon explained.
The congressman shared that he was able to eventually enter the complex by walking on his own.
“I could’ve have thrown a fit but my father didn’t raise me that way,” he said in another tweet.
Lockout policy
Strict security is always enforced within and in the surrounding areas of the Batasang Pambansa complex during SONA since it is a major convening of the country’s lawmakers in a joint session.
This year, the House of Representatives’ security has implemented a lock-out policy from July 19 to 21 for Duterte’s fourth SONA.
“The ‘No Pre-Sona Security Lock-out Stickers, No Entry’ and ‘No Hrep ID, No Entry’ policies shall be strictly enforced on July 19 to 21, 2019,” its public advisory reads.
Security personnel were deployed to man gates around the complex to facilitate the entrance and exit of guests for the SONA, from lawmakers to media personnel.
The main and south gates were dedicated to House members, senators, congressional spouses and their security details, VIP guests and House and Senate secretariat officials.
Meanwhile, the north gate served as the entrance of invited guests, OB vans and generator sets, emergency vehicles, House shuttle buses and vehicles with “Drop-Off” passes.
Personnel and non-employees of the House who have no official business in the complex were not allowed to enter the premises.
