ON Monday, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. will deliver his second state of the nation address (SONA) to the Filipino people.

Delivering the SONA yearly is a constitutional obligation of the Chief Executive, required by Article VII, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution. 

Marcos said this week that his speech would be “very simple,” and he would explain the “significant progress” that the Philippines made in the past year, particularly on how the country is perceived by the international community.

He added that he would also present to the public the progress of the programs he discussed in his first SONA, as well as his administration’s future plans.

All eyes and ears will be on the President on Monday, and among those who will tune are members of the youngest group of voters in the country, the Generation Z.

Do Gen Zs care about the SONA? 

Some schools require their students to watch the SONA and make an academic paper out of it.

But for other students, listening to what the President has to say is more than just a school requirement.

For college students Zay Delos Santos, Dean Palapar, and Ja Cruz, listening to the SONA is important for them to know the current state of the country, to be aware of the social issues that the nation is facing, and to be informed of the government’s actions to address these.

“Mahalagang maging involved tayo sa mga ganitong discussions as students [because] we need to know what kind of leader we currently have, how can we hold him accountable sa mga kakulangan niya as our president, anong mga measures yung kailangan nating gawin para sa betterment ng country and kung paano tayo magbebenefit sa mga achievements niya, kung meron man,” Delos Santos told republicasia.

Palapar said the SONA can be an avenue for the students not only to understand and be informed of the government’s plans and projects, but also to express their views on Marcos’ leadership.

“When we do or go beyond more than just merely listening to SONA, we fulfill our roles as watchdogs of our government; we become more of service to our community,” he said.

Meanwhile, Cruz said the SONA is a matter of concern for the students since it will tackle the actions and plans the government has for the education sector. 

She said that these will have “a significant influence” on the students that will go beyond their school premises.

Expectations 

Marcos is expected to cover a range of national issues in his speech. But what are the topics that these college students want to hear him talk about? 

Since Marcos said that there has been “significant progress” in the country, Cruz said she would like the chief executive to elaborate on this claim by explaining the developments in the projects and programs he presented in his first SONA.

She would also like Marcos to address inflation, food security, the country’s debt, and the mandatory Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program.

And while the World Health Organization declared an end to COVID-19 as a global health emergency, she still sees the need for the government to look into the condition of the country’s healthcare system.

She further said she would like to hear the President talk about the Maharlika Investment Fund that he signed this week, despite opposition from some groups due to the potential corruption and financial risks it has.

Aside from food security and inflation, Palapar said he would like the President to talk about current issues such as the demand for wage increase, agrarian reform, the International Criminal Court plan to probe former President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war, and the issue on the West Philippine Sea.

Marcos said on Friday that the Philippines would no longer deal with the Hague-based court, after it rejected the government’s appeal to block an investigation on Duterte’s war on drugs.

Delos Santos, meanwhile, said Marcos’ campaign promises weren’t clear and neither was his first SONA. 

She would like to know more about his actual plans during his second address to the nation. 

Education wishlist 

The three students are also hoping that the national government would focus on improving education.

They listed some programs and courses of action that they believe would improve the quality of education in the country and benefit the students like them.

First on Delos Santos’ list is the realignment of their curriculum.

“I personally think na the current one is more counterproductive to us students. Nasanay kasi ang students na narrative ang way of teaching at hindi informative, malaking factor din ‘to kung bakit kasali tayo ro’n sa mga may mababang reading comprehension among 79 countries,” she said.

She was referring to the reading literacy assessment of the inter-government group Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2019 where the Philippines ranked the lowest among 79 countries.

She also called on the government to push the salary increase of the teachers. This was one of Marcos’ campaign promises.

But instead of a salary hike, Marcos ordered the Department of Education to study the proposal to give “nonbasic wage benefits” to the educators.

Delos Santos noted that many teachers are still struggling. 

“Yung iba [sa kanila] they’re forced to switch careers kaya nagkukulang sa teachers ang ibang schools and universities. Kung kulang ang funds at ang manpower, samahan mo pa ng ineffective na curriculum, mahihirapan talagang ma-attain ng isang average Filipino student ang knowledge na deserve niyang matutunan,” she said.

Palapar said there is a need to respond to the call of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers and other sectoral groups to lessen the workloads of the teachers.

Overworked teachers would only “hamper their focus towards their students’ learning and growth,” he said.

“This is because the welfare of teachers is as important as the welfare of students when one hopes to increase the quality of education in the country,” he stressed.

But aside from addressing the concerns of teachers, the government should also address the scarcity of educational resources in other regions, he said. 

Lastly, he would like to see a revamp of the academic standards, wherein the curriculum would not only prioritize key areas that would make a student a valuable asset, but would also instill patriotism and critical thinking.

Cruz, for her part, said the government must allocate a bigger budget for the education sector so that it could implement more programs to help students and teachers.

She said a bigger budget would allow the government to increase the compensation of the teachers, create more opportunities and scholarships for non-science, technology, engineering and mathematics students, build more facilities, and revise the curriculum to include subjects such as media and information literacy, Philippine history, and Filipino in college curriculums.

She also hopes that the education sector would strengthen the National Service Training Program and make the ROTC  program optional for the students.