SONA Special Report: What to expect from Marcos’ 2nd report to the nation

DURING President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) last year, he vowed in front of the Filipino people that he would push for 42 priority bills to help the nation recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and build a better future.

Over a year into Marcos’ presidency, only six of the 42 bills were signed into law, while 33 of them received nods from the Senate and House of Representatives.

Marcos’ priority bills that became laws include the RA No. 11934 or the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Card Registration Act, RA No. 11935 or the rescheduling of the 2022 barangay elections, RA No. 11953 or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, RA No. 11939 or the tweaks to law on term limits for high-ranking AFP officials, RA No. 11936 or the General Appropriations Act, and the Maharlika Investment Fund.

READ: Marcos signs law condoning unpaid debts of agrarian reform beneficiaries

Political analyst and chairman of the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG), Inc. Temario Rivera attributed the low number to the government’s push for the Maharlika Investment Fund, which was approved by the president on July 18.

READ: Marcos signs Maharlika Investment Fund law

“I think part of the reason is the sudden proposal to have a Maharlika Investment Fund. It ate up a lot of time and resources of both houses and Congress [because] it was not in the original priorities,” Rivera said.

He further said that the coordination between the upper house and the lower house through the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) was also not very efficient.

Considering this, Rivera is almost certain that the president will, once again, include the unfulfilled priority bills in his second SONA.

“While we cannot, of course, fully anticipate what will be included this time in his priority bills, we’re almost sure that some of the original priority bills will also be included,” he told republicasia in an interview.

What people expect from Marcos’ 2nd SONA

While it is difficult to predict what subjects will be included in his speech, some college students shared their expectations regarding the upcoming second SONA on Monday, July 24.

Eljohn Centeno is anticipating that Marcos will be discussing more about the country’s economy in his speech, as he said the president previously mentioned he wants to strengthen the country’s economic recovery.

But he also said he wants the president to address issues regarding the SOGIESC (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression and Sex Characteristics) Equality Bill, free education, and human rights violation.

“Gusto kong mabanggit din ni Marcos sa kanyang SONA ngayon ay yung pagpapatupad ng SOGIESC Bill sa Senado dahil malawak na yung diskriminasyon na nagaganap sa Pilipinas pagdating sa mga LGBT,” he said.

“Gusto ko rin i-tackle yung na gawing libre ang edukasyon, edukasyon bilang karapatan ganyan, at mga human right violations na hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin nasasagot na kanyang pinasisinungalingan na hindi raw totoong nagaganap.”

Meanwhile, another college student, Merille Czine Tejada said she anticipates a discussion on poverty alleviation, taking into account the worsening poverty cases in the country.

Lawrence Ico and Dana Daylo, on the other hand, said they want to hear the president’s plans on improving public transportation. 

The latter expressed the struggles she is currently confronting regarding the transportation system, noting the heavy traffic among major highways and roads in the country.

She also hopes that Marcos will mention his plans to address this problem.

Ico said he also wishes that Marcos will improve the railway systems in the country.

Others also expect an explanation from him regarding his uncooperative behavior towards the International Criminal Court (ICC) that aims to investigate the war drug crimes that ensued during his predecessor, former president Rodrigo Duterte.

READ: Marcos says Philippines is ‘done talking’ with ICC

College student Cedrick Evangelista said Marcos’ rejection of the ICC is one of his biggest red flags.

“If he’s really sincere doon sa concern nya towards the Filipino people, why would he not cooperate with international institutions that intend to provide justice to the families of the drug war victims?” he said. 

What should Marcos address in his SONA

Rivera emphasized that Marcos should address some more important priority bills, including the National Government Rightsizing Program, the E-Government Act, the pension system for uniformed personnel, the National Land Use Act, the amendments to the EPIRA Law (RA No. 9136) or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, and many others.

Moreover, he told republicasia that he sees at least four crucial areas that he will need to concentrate on in his speech.

This includes economic policies, problems in the bureaucracy, foreign policies, national security, and the level of social unity, participation, and support from the general society.

Rivera explained that addressing the agrarian problems will help alleviate the economic crisis since much of the inflation is caused by high prices of basic goods and commodities, including rice.

“Yung pinaka-urgent talaga is a set of integrated policies that will address our most urgent economic problems — inflation, jobs, very low wages—all of which translate to poverty and increasing inequality among the various social classes in our society,” he said.

He added that aside from the condoning of the Filipino farmers’ debts, there will be a need for more policies that support the agricultural industry for it to recover and continue to flourish.

“A system of fundamental support for our farmers including financial, farm to market roads, better seeds, yung mga institutionalized forms of support, all of those will have to be pursued decisively para magkaroon ng long term impact sa agrikultura natin,” Rivera said.

If there is a more productive agricultural sector, said Rivera, that will translate into resolving many of our problems, like food shortages. It will also provide additional jobs and decrease poverty rates, especially in rural areas. 

Aside from this, Marcos would also need to face problems in the bureaucracy. Rivera said he should not only focus on the rightsizing of various government departments and agencies but also pay attention to solutions to stop corruption in government.

Moreover, Rivera said the president should also formulate decisive actions for the country’s foreign policy and national security that would seek to negotiate the increasingly tense relations of the Philippines with both China and the United States. 

Marcos should also address the problems of the level of social unity, participation, and support, as per Rivera.

It would be very difficult for any administration to succeed if there is a continuing conflict between the government and the broad society, he said.

Further, Rivera said the president should also abolish the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), as it is allegedly being used to stifle dissent.

Marcos should also be open to the resumption of the peace process to end the communist insurgency, said Rivera.

While presidents always try to paint a rosy picture of the country’s state during the SONA, Rivera said the general public should learn how to read between the lines in order to decide whether or not the proposed policies will have notable effects on the country.

“People should ask if the real policies being proposed ay magkakaroon talaga ng significant impact, hindi lang yung palamuti or a very optimistic picture na wala namang batayan in reality,” he said.

Rivera also said it’s high time for Marcos to put some flesh on his call for unity.

“It was his main slogan, but so far, we are not seeing this, especially in his relationship with one: the drug war victims under President Duterte,” he said.