Mandated by the 1987 Constitution, the speech is delivered on the fourth Monday of July at the Plenary Session Hall of the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Batasan Hills, Quezon City.

The SONA, which is often broadcast, serves as a means to inform the nation about its present economic, political, and social condition.

The President meanwhile arrives at the Batasang Pambansa Complex some minutes before the beginning of the joint session, and enters the main building through a back entrance.

When Emilio Aguinaldo addressed the Malolos Congress in Spanish on September 15, 1898, he simply congratulated the formation of the first representative body of the Philippines and Asia.

"[2]The first formal State of the Nation Address was delivered by President Manuel L. Quezon on June 16, 1936 at the Legislative Building in Manila.

[2] The dates of the SONA were fixed on June 16 of every year at the start of opening sessions of Congress, by virtue of Commonwealth Act No.

President Manuel L. Quezon delivered his final State of the Nation Address on January 31, 1941, prior to the onset of World War II.

With the 1945 defeat of the Japanese Empire and the re-establishment of the Commonwealth Government, the now-bicameral Congress of the Philippines convened on June 9, 1945, the first time since their election in 1941.

During this special session, President Sergio Osmeña addressed lawmakers at their provisional quarters (a repurposed schoolhouse) along Lepanto Street in Manila, and gave a comprehensive report on the work carried out by the Commonwealth Government during its three-year as a government-in-exile in Washington, D.C.

Protests are done at Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, the main road leading to the Batasang Pambansa Complex, and Mendiola Street, fronting Malacañang Palace.

Recent addresses have been the subject of criticism by various sectors for being too ostentatious and flashy, with politicians and media personalities treating the event as a red carpet fashion show, thus others dubbing it as the country's version of the Met Gala.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago blasted the organizers and called the event a "thoughtless extravagance" where "peacocks spread their tails and turn around and around, as coached by media in a feeding frenzy.