PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr is set to deliver his fourth State of the Nation (SONA) today, with lawmakers and various sectors hoping he would talk about problems like the recent widespread floodings from successive weather disturbances and where the budget for flood control projects went.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said half of the P2 trillion allocations for flood control over the years may have been lost to corruption.
What government has been doing to address gambling and other social problems are also awaited topics.
“I would really like to hear from the President what steps he can take to stop this online gambling, whether it is illegal or legal,” said Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, one of the senators who sought to ban online gambling in the country.
As for the Catholic Church, prelates want a truthful report on the state of the nation.
“During the SONA, sometimes, it’s what you want people to hear. But what do I really want to hear? I want to hear the truth,” said Novaliches Bishop Roberto Gaa.
Antipolo Bishop Ruperto Santos said he wants to hear concrete measures and solutions from Marcos on prevailing social problems like corruption and gambling, which are “deeply intertwined moral and social concerns.”
“Corruption destroys public trust and diverts resources meant for the poor, while gambling — especially online platforms — has increasingly devastated Filipino families,” he said.
Rep. Leila de Lima (PL, Mamamayang Liberal) criticized the Marcos Jr. administration for struggling to “implement reforms and for its lack of good governance to curb corruption.”
The former senator said “the true state of our nation reveals itself not in statistics, but in silences — in the things this government refuses to say. In the truths it tries to soften, and the abuses it chooses to ignore.”
“This is the root of the problem: the government has an engine but no driver. There is no cohesive leadership. Power is divided among factions, and governance often feels like trial and error. ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ sounds good on paper, but where is the central vision? What is the plan?” De Lima said in mixed Filipino and English.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Marcos last week said there will be something different about this year’s SONA compared to his three previous speeches, because the current state of the country is different from what it was in 2024, in 2023 and in 2022.
“We will be talking about mainly the same things about the social projects of the government for people in need. We will talk about the programs that we are going to – that we have initiated and will continue to promote and endorse as we – until the end of – certainly – at the very least, until the end of this term. Hopefully, it will continue after my term. So, that’s what we expect from the SONA,” he said.
The President is expected to discuss his government’s accomplishments.
Recently, the administration has been highlighting government efforts to address food security through more affordable food such as the P20 per kilo rice, which is a campaign promise, and the inclusion of corn among food items that the National Food Authority could sell.
Also on focus were the government’s efforts to improve internet connectivity and the digitization of the country, and traffic congestion through more railways ang rehabilitated highways and bridges.
It had also been talking about continued efforts to strengthen military and security efforts through modernization programs and more peace and defense cooperation with like-minded nations and efforts to improve social services through health and education, among others.
Also expected to be included in the SONA are priority legislative measures. Under the 19th Congress, 295 bills were enacted, including 19 that were passed during the first regular session, 56 during the second regular session and 220 during the third regular session.
Data from the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office showed that 15 of the 18 bills that had been certified as urgent under the 19th Congress had been passed and signed into law, while 33 of the 64 priority measures of the administration or common legislative agenda had also been enacted.
The President, since arriving from his official visit to the United States last Wednesday, had been visiting evacuation centers affected by the weather disturbances, and meeting with representatives from the affected areas to determine the needs on the ground.
FLOOD BUDGET
Lacson said he expects the President to take up the flooding problem, along with peace and order, in his SONA.
“I believe it will be included,” Lacson told radio DZBB Sunday when he was asked if Marcos should tackle the perennial problem of flooding in his address.
Metro Manila and nearby provinces experienced severe flooding last week due to heavy rains caused by typhoons “Crising,” “Dante” and “Emong” and the southwest monsoon, leading to the suspension of work in government offices and in-person learning in schools.
Lacson also reiterated his call for a review of the government’s mechanisms for preparation, planning and implementation in addressing the flooding problem.
“Climate change has been tagged as a factor in the flooding problem, but it has become a convenient excuse for some. We need to see where we can improve in terms of preparation, planning and implementation. We also cannot discount that of the P2 trillion in allocations, P1 trillion may have ended up in some people’s pockets,” he said in Filipino in the said interview.
He said while nearly P2 trillion had been allocated to the budget of the DPWH alone for the last 15 years since 2011, the flooding problem still persists.
“It seems absurd. With the increase in the flood control budget there should be a corresponding decrease in floodings. But why it is proportional? Something is very wrong. If not in management, maybe in planning or policy,” he said.
Sen. JV Ejercito echoed Lacson’ remarks that Marcos should include in his SONA the problem of flooding and the actions taken by the government to address the problem.
Zubiri said Marcos should say what he did to the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators or POGO which has been banned since December 2024.
“If he can’t outright ban it, at least he can say that Congress needs to study what steps we can take to be stricter, especially in the use of these e-wallets. Because what happened is, we brought the casino, we brought gambling into our homes. We brought it into our homes,” he said.
CORRUPTION WIDESPREAD
De Lima said that while the administration has inherited a lot of problems and failures from the Duterte administration, the country needs a “leader who knows the direction and the focus of governance.” She said graft and corruption remains widespread at all levels — Executive, Judiciary, Legislature.”
Iloilo City Rep. Janette Garin, a former health secretary, she is looking forward to hearing about improvements in the country’s healthcare system and addressing the need for greater efficiency in public service and stronger safeguards for the economy.
Among the key issues she hopes the President will address in his address are: faster and more responsive government services, through the full implementation of anti-red tape policies and the adoption of a risk-based, streamlined approach across frontline agencies; stronger anti-corruption measures and a more investor-friendly environment to spur job creation and economic growth; enhanced regional cooperation, particularly in health and trade, with ASEAN neighbors; improved access to affordable food, through decisive action against unscrupulous traders and anti-competitive practices that artificially inflate prices; a more responsive Department of Health, including the improvement of procurement systems to prevent recurring stockouts and bid failures affecting essential medicines and vaccines. – With Gerard Naval and Jocelyn Reyes
