Though hailed by his political colleagues as the ‘best’ State of the Nation Address (SONA) thus far due to data-driven narratives and a ‘refreshing’ tone in contrast to his predecessor, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s third address stands as the latest addition to a persistent trend when it comes to the country’s annual presidential speeches: an illusory painting of mass success that remains detached from the calls of the masses.
In his speech held on July 22, 2024, Marcos goes into detail on the accomplishments of his two-year-old term—from describing the overall increase of infrastructural projects such as expressways, railroads, and public-private partnerships under the Build Better More programs, to citing statistical data relating to growths in employment rates and agricultural produce.
Laying out implemented policies, projects, and legislations such as the Department of Agriculture’s (DAR) KADIWA programs, the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) “Walang Gutom 2027” program, the educational sector’s Teaching Allowances Act and more, it can be said that Marcos is quite detailed in marking the progresses of his administration.
In his own words, “We can claim that despite challenges, we are steadily progressing towards our targets in the medium-term.”
However, no amount of detail supplementing Marcos’ picture of success would be successful in covering up the term’s grittier details conveniently left unmentioned by the President.
For instance, though Marcos’ speech acknowledges some major national issues such as the proliferation of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) and rising tensions caused by China’s military activity on the West Philippine Sea, the speech features nothing about the nationwide public transportation crisis that gained much notoriety throughout the past year.
Mentioning only the state of his Build Better More programs such as the Maharlika Highway and other expressway and railroad expansions, the President fails to address anything about the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP)—be it general updates or the concerns raised by jeepney phaseout strikers.
Likewise, amidst his claims of successful anti-inflation policies and post-pandemic resilience initiatives, particularly for the economic and employment sectors, poverty brought by low minimum wages and high costs of living still run paramount across the country.
On the streets of Quezon City on the very day of the address, the cries of multi-sectoral groups calling for nationwide wage hikes and labor rights were among the loudest mass demonstrations directed towards the Batasang Pambansa Complex—yet, it was as if the government heard nothing at all.
“Bragging about ‘improvement’ in employment figures…rings hollow as nothing has been done to address the deepening problems of contractualization and poverty wages that many are consigned to. Our demand for legislated minimum wage increase of P150 is once again callously ignored as the President called on the regional wage boards to provide more crumbs to the working class!” asserted the Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa (Sentro) in response to Marcos’ omission of labor-related issues outside of increased employment rates.
All these, coupled with his silence on the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) recommendations on addressing trade union killings and other labor violations within the country, the state of the Maharlika Investment Funds amidst the aforementioned ongoing economic crisis, and the state of press freedom in the Philippines with 136 attacks against journalists throughout his first two years, send a strong message of detachment from the harsh truths faced by the nation.
Though Marcos may paint his third SONA as a symbol of nationwide progress in all aspects, his focus on his administration’s achievements and projects rather than the calls of the nation brings back the pattern faced by the Filipino masses: nothing changes because no one is being listened to.
And, when detachment from the masses’ realities is established as a precedent with every annual address, SONAs become nothing more than speeches made for the sake of looking effective and efficient in the eyes of presidential echo chambers.
If we want to deviate from the pattern of SONAs—and presidencies—offering nothing new and nothing substantial to the lives of the people national leaders are sworn to serve, then a call for incumbent and future presidents to step in the shoes of the poorest of Filipinos becomes an imperative.
More importantly, open expression of the plights of the people should not only be encouraged and acknowledged, but also be given major consideration in determining the direction of the term.
Otherwise, when those in power turn a blind eye towards the true state of the nation, who can fault the masses for turning deaf ears towards annual SONAs when they know well that the narratives in the addresses dwell in deceit and do not reflect the truth?
