PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) fell short of providing concrete updates on some of the administration’s biggest unresolved issues, political analysts said.
Asst. Prof. Arjan Aguirre of the Ateneo de Manila University Department of Political Science said the address missed an opportunity to provide a substantive report on the government’s ongoing investigation into alleged anomalies in flood-control projects.
“I was expecting that he would again mention the issue of corruption, which he did. But unfortunately, I find the discussion there quite vague and incomplete,” Aguirre told the Varsitarian.
During his address, Marcos said the government had recovered more than P800 million in ill-gotten assets linked to the flood-control controversy that emerged in 2025.
For Aguirre, however, the president merely repeated information that had already been made public.
“Dumating na tayo sa punto na ayon sa Ombudsman ay malapit na ang paghahain ng patung-patong na kaso sa dating [House] speaker. Masakit man sa akin ito, ngunit kailangan nating gawin ang tama,” Marcos said early in his address.
(We have reached the point where, according to the Ombudsman, multiple cases are close to being filed against the former [House] speaker. Painful as this may be for me, we have to do what is right.)
In his 2025 SONA, Marcos denounced public officials and contractors receiving kickbacks from state-funded infrastructure projects, delivering the now-famous rebuke: “Mahiya naman kayo!”
Since then, the administration has highlighted developments in the investigation, including the filing of criminal charges against former House speaker Martin Romualdez, former senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., former Ako Bicol representative Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, former Public Works secretary Manuel Bonoan, and other officials over alleged anomalies in flood-control projects.
However, on Aug. 1, the Sandiganbayan granted Revilla’s petition for bail and ordered his temporary release upon posting a P1-million cash bond.
Revilla had been detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology’s Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory since Jan. 20 over a non-bailable malversation case involving an alleged anomalous P92.8-million flood-control project in Pandi, Bulacan.
As of writing, the other cases remain pending before the courts.
Marcos also did not mention the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte or the International Criminal Court proceedings against former president Rodrigo Duterte, despite the political significance of both cases.
Jazztin Manalo, a faculty member at the UST Department of Political Science, said Marcos might have avoided discussing the impeachment case out of respect for the separation of powers.
“Malaki ang naging impact ng ongoing impeachment sa Marcos Jr. administration. In fact, ‘yong watak pa lang ng UniTeam nagkaroon na kaagad ng matinding divide sa administration niya. How much more ngayon na ‘yong sarili niyang bise presidente ay under the impeachment process?” Manalo told the Varsitarian.
(The ongoing impeachment has had a significant impact on the Marcos Jr. administration. In fact, the split within the UniTeam had created a deep divide. How much more now that his own vice president is undergoing the impeachment process?)
The Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, is trying the case stemming from allegations that Duterte misused confidential funds while serving as vice president and education secretary.
Unaddressed issues
Although Marcos reaffirmed the country’s commitment to defending its territorial rights in the West Philippine Sea, Aguirre said the president failed to outline specific measures to address tensions in the disputed waters.
“Just like the previous SONA, he was not brave enough to be direct on this. I was waiting for the term West Philippine Sea. I was waiting for concrete actions that we must do in the next few months within the fiscal year,” Aguirre said.
The proposed anti-political dynasty law is another missed opportunity. The measure, which seeks to implement the Constitution’s prohibition on political dynasties, remains pending in Congress despite renewed calls for its passage after the 2025 midterm elections.
Ederson Tapia, a political science faculty at the University of Makati, said Marcos’ penultimate SONA should have focused on reporting the administration’s progress on commitments made since he assumed office in 2022.
“We’re no longer at that stage when the president is being expected to do agenda-setting. Now, the people would be expecting more concrete reports on things that he has mentioned in the past,” he said.
The president cited progress in food security, digitalization, healthcare, infrastructure, renewable energy, and education, all of which have been among the administration’s priorities since 2022.
However, several initiatives highlighted in the address were existing government programs with limited coverage, duration, or eligibility.
Among them were agricultural loan relief for farmers and fisherfolk, truck toll waivers, and tariff reductions on electric vehicles.
Despite the administration’s plans to increase foreign tourist arrivals and improve employment, tourism received little attention in the president’s speech.
Tourism contributed 8.1% to the economy in 2025, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority. Although the country recorded 6.48 million international visitor arrivals that year, it continued to trail regional tourism leaders such as Malaysia and Vietnam.
“If he were really serious about the corruption problem, not just the flood control problem, he could have made some serious efforts in pushing for some long-term changes or reforms in our government,” Aguirre said.
The July 2026 Pulse Asia survey found that 50% of Filipinos disapproved of the Marcos administration’s performance, while 29% approved and 21% were undecided.
“I would expect the president to fulfill the promises that he made earlier on in his administration and even earlier on, going back into the campaign,” Tapia said.
“I think that’s the only way that he could salvage whatever kind of confidence the people have in him,” he added. Ashley Madeleine D. Lampa and Mikaela Angela G. Villacorta with reports from Ralent M. Penilla
