29/07/2026
𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀
By Marfroiza Kasim
An hour and twenty-six minutes of applause cannot pay a single hospital bill, rebuild a single flooded home, or answer a single question about the ninety-nine years we may be about to give away.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivered his fifth State of the Nation Address last July, and according to Inquirer, it was his longest yet—a sweeping account of corruption, disaster preparedness, energy, the economy, healthcare, education, agriculture, infrastructure, the West Philippine Sea, and a new artificial intelligence hub called Pax Silica.
He opened with the same formula of humility he always uses: a president reporting back to the people he serves. But a SONA is a performance before it is anything else. It is written to be applauded. Our task, as citizens who will inherit whatever this administration leaves behind, is to sit with the silence after the clapping stops and ask honestly what we actually heard—and what it means for us.
This is that reckoning, topic by topic. And on one issue in particular, Pax Silica, we are not neutral. We believe it should not go forward as it stands, and we say so plainly.
Corruption, and Why an Apology Is Not Yet Justice
The most personal moment of the speech came when the President spoke about the flood control corruption scandal he himself exposed a year ago—a scandal that, according to Manila Bulletin, has since reached his own family, with his cousin, former Speaker Martin Romualdez, now facing the prospect of criminal cases.
He said, in effect, that he answers to the nation before he answers to blood or friendship. It is a powerful thing for a president to say out loud, and we do not dismiss the weight of saying it. But easy words are not the same as hard decisions made behind closed doors.
A great deal of stolen or misused public money has, according to SunStar Philippines, been traced and frozen. Only a small fraction of it has actually made its way back into government hands, and as of this writing, according to Inquirer, not one powerful figure behind the scandal has been convicted.
A large bloc of senators stayed away from the address entirely, in open protest—a reminder that the story the Palace tells about accountability is not the story everyone in this country believes.
Salita lamang ang narinig natin. Ang hinihintay pa natin ay ang tunay na hatol.
Disaster Preparedness, and a Shelter Promised Is Not a Shelter Built
Marcos spoke of new disaster-resilient centers meant to withstand the strongest storms and earthquakes and, according to Inquirer, called on Congress to finally modernize a national building code that has not kept pace with the disasters our country now faces almost every year.
On paper, this is exactly the kind of forward planning the Philippines needs. We have heard promises about disaster resilience before—after every calamity. What is missing from this year’s version is the same thing that has been missing in previous years: a timeline the public can actually hold the government to.
Bago tayo maniwala, gusto naming makita ang unang poste, ang unang semento, hindi lang ang unang balita.
Energy, and Surviving a Crisis Is Not the Same as Solving It
This year’s energy story was shaped by war half a world away, which sent fuel prices climbing and, according to SunStar Philippines, forced the government to declare a state of energy emergency, roll out subsidies, and scramble to secure oil from new sources.
Credit where it is due—the government moved, and Filipinos received some relief on their electric bills. That relief was modest, and it was framed honestly as modest. But emergency measures are a bandage, not a cure. We still do not have an energy system built to withstand the next shock, wherever in the world it comes from.
Hanggang hindi naitatayo ang matibay na saligan, mananatili tayong nakadepende sa awa ng pandaigdigang presyo ng langis.
The Economy, Relief for Some, a Reckoning Still Owed to Most
The President offered new tax relief and framed the year’s economic story as one of easing prices and steady progress. Some of that is true. But according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, it is not the whole truth, and Filipino households know it better than any chart could show them.
Prices for rice, meat, and transport climbed sharply earlier this year before easing again, according to data cited by Rappler, and easing from a high point is not the same as becoming affordable.
When we talk about the economy, the percentage on a SONA slide should not be enough. The real question is whether an ordinary worker’s paycheck can still cover rice, milk, and medicine by the end of the month. Tax relief is a real benefit to those who receive it, but it is not a substitute for a genuine answer to why everything still costs so much more than it used to.
Healthcare, a System That Forgives the Bill but Not the Wait
There is one fact worth stating plainly here. According to Rappler, many Filipinos have not had to pay out of pocket for hospital care this past year, thanks to the government’s zero-balance billing policy.
For a family that once had to sell a carabao or borrow from a cousin to pay a hospital bill, this genuinely changes lives. But erasing a bill is not the same as shortening a wait. The real question is whether there are enough beds, enough nurses, and enough doctors so that no one has to wait hours before being seen.
Mabuti ang gabay, pero kailangan din ng lakas para makasabay.
Education, Honoring Teachers While the System Around Them Still Struggles
The President spoke proudly of promoting public school teachers and hiring more, along with a private-sector pledge to build much-needed classrooms.
Every teacher who spent years stuck at entry-level pay while shaping generations of Filipino children has earned this moment, and it deserves to be said plainly. But a teacher is only one part of a classroom. The larger challenge is the system itself: overcrowded classes, limited books, and students still struggling to read well after years in school.
Igalang natin ang g**o sa pamamagitan ng pagsuporta rin sa mismong sistemang kanilang pinagsisilbihan.
Agriculture, Safety Nets Are Not the Same as Security
Farmers and fisherfolk were promised expanded insurance and continued land reform, and according to GMA News, the agriculture sector genuinely grew faster this past year than it has in a long while. That growth matters, and it should be acknowledged rather than buried under skepticism.
But the deeper struggle has not ended. Hog disease, shifting weather, and rising production costs continue to weigh down every harvest, the same report notes. Subsidized rice and insurance payouts are safety nets—they catch farmers when they fall. They do not, by themselves, make them less likely to fall in the first place.
Kailan ba talaga titigil ang ating pagsasaka sa pag-asa sa awa ng subsidyo, at magsisimulang tumayo sa sariling lakas?
Infrastructure, We Have Heard “Next Year” Before
New train lines, new stations, and discounted fares—the President’s infrastructure promises were, as always, ambitious, and according to Rappler, some of the fare relief already in place is real and welcome for daily commuters.
For Filipinos who ride buses, jeepneys, and trains every day, the phrase “next year” is a familiar one. We heard it at the last SONA too. Many of these projects have been promised for years, and the true measure will not be the announcement but the first train that actually runs on time without being pushed back again.
The West Philippine Sea, Courage in Words, Uncertainty in Action
The President’s words on the West Philippine Sea were, without question, the most stirring of the entire address, delivered, according to The Philippine Star, days after Chinese vessels reportedly harassed Filipino fisherfolk in waters that are rightfully ours. It was the kind of moment that made an entire nation sit a little straighter.
But dignity is not a defense against a warship. The harder, unanswered question is what “every peaceful and legal means available” will actually mean the next time our fishermen are blocked near Ayungin Shoal.
We are proud of a president who refuses to be small in front of a bully. We will be prouder still of a government that backs that pride with a plan the public can actually see.
Pax Silica, the Promise We Cannot Applaud
And then there is Pax Silica—a proposed technology hub in New Clark City, presented to the nation as our ticket into the global race for artificial intelligence and semiconductors. It was introduced with excitement, with promises of jobs, investment, and a Philippines finally at the center of something big.
This is not about rejecting progress. We want a Philippines that helps build the future of technology, not just watch it happen elsewhere. But that future should not be bought at a price we do not fully understand, and it should certainly not be paid for by leasing away our own land for nearly a century without first giving the public honest answers.
The vision is grand, but the details remain unclear. The enormous investments being promised are, according to BusinessWorld, still hopes on paper rather than signed commitments. The land being offered to foreign investors could be leased for close to a century, according to The Philippine Star—longer than the political career of anyone currently defending the deal, longer than the working lives of most of our parents.
Why should we accept mortgaging our children’s land for a promise we do not yet fully understand?
It is also worth stating plainly that this project is being championed by the same government still prosecuting its own officials for corruption in flood control—a wound that, according to Inquirer and Daily Tribune, has not even begun to heal. Before we hand over another massive undertaking, is it not fair to demand an honest and transparent process first?
Farmers, environmental advocates, and citizens who marched on the day of the SONA have raised legitimate concerns, the same reports note, that this project could drive up electricity costs for ordinary Filipinos and cause more damage to our land and environment than the prosperity it promises.
So rather than applaud Pax Silica today, we ask our fellow Filipinos—students, farmers, environmental advocates, and lawmakers alike—to keep asking questions. There is still a window before this agreement is formally signed. We should use it: demand clearer terms, an independent review of its environmental and land impacts, and an honest account of who truly benefits. That window should not be allowed to close without enough answers.
Beyond the Applause
By the end of the night, reactions split the way they always do. Some lawmakers called the speech incomplete. Workers said it fell short of what they needed to hear. Others praised it for clearly laying out everything the administration still hopes to accomplish before its term ends.
That split is the point. We all heard the same facts—the funds recovered even as little of them has been returned, the inflation that “eased” only after it had already climbed sharply, the technology promised while our land is still being negotiated away—yet the verdict changes depending on what each of us walked in believing.
That is the real freedom every Filipino holds: the right to look past every promise and ask what stands behind it.
Our call, as students, as writers, and as the people who will live with whatever is decided today, is simple: we should not settle for applause.
Manindigan tayo para sa ikabubuti ng mamamayan at sa kinabukasan ng ating minamahal na bansang Pilipinas!
The true measure of any administration is not the speech delivered at the Batasang Pambansa, but what we experience afterward—in our communities, our schools, our hospitals, and yes, on our land—long after the last clap has faded.
References:
Businessworld. Coverage of the Pax Silica investment scale and funding structure. bworldonline.com
Daily Tribune. Coverage of the Pax Silica hub, its environmental concerns, and land lease terms. tribune.net.ph
GMA News Online. SONA coverage and agricultural sector performance review. gmanetwork.com
Inquirer.net. Coverage of the flood control corruption scandal, disaster preparedness proposals, Pax Silica opposition, and infrastructure announcements. newsinfo.inquirer.net
Manila Bulletin. Coverage of the anti-graft case involving former Speaker Martin Romualdez. mb.com.ph
Manila Times. Full transcript of the SONA and related follow-up coverage. manilatimes.net
Philippine Statistics Authority. Inflation reports for the relevant months. psa.gov.ph
Philstar.com. Coverage of the West Philippine Sea remarks and Pax Silica land lease terms. philstar.com
Rappler. SONA full text, live coverage, and reaction roundups. rappler.com
Sunstar Philippines. SONA summary and reactions coverage. sunstar.com.ph
Tempo. Coverage of the flood control scandal cases. tempo.mb.com.ph
The Summit Express. Full transcript of the SONA. thesummitexpress.com
VERA Files. Coverage of the West Philippine Sea remarks. verafiles.org
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