Some thoughts on Marcos’ 5th Sona

opinion / Columnists Columnists Kris-Crossing Mindanao Some thoughts on Marcos’ 5th Sona By: Rufa Cagoco-Guiam - @inquirerdotnet Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:10 AM July 28, 2026 Share: Yesterday afternoon, July 27, 2026, President Marcos delivered his fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona). Prior to this significant event this year in Mr. Marcos’ presidency, two professors were interviewed on national television about how they rated his performance in 2026, based on the promises and commitments he had enumerated in his 2025 Sona.

Both are established academics in institutions of higher learning in Metro Manila as professors in political science and public administration. Both gave Mr. Marcos very low ratings of 3.

5 and 4 on a scale of one to 10, where the latter number represents a perfect performance. When asked why they rated Mr. Marcos quite low on the scale, they both expressed that throughout the whole year from 2025 to 2026, between the two Sonas, Mr.

Marcos had not focused on what matters most, on ensuring that the greater majority of Filipinos no longer feel poor and food insecure. They also expressed that for the most part—Mr. Marcos just went through several initiatives showing that he just cruised along for his own political survival, with no serious focus on issues that matter most for many Filipinos.

Article continues after this advertisement Many game-changing events took place in the country from 2025 to July 2026.FEATURED STORIES OPINION Four truths on Sara’s trial OPINION A Sona for real life OPINION Captive audience In 2025, the Philippines registered low gross domestic product growth of 4.4 percent, which economists consider a five-year low rate.

While 2026 saw a slight increase to 5.3 percent by an International Monetary Fund assessment, it is not a guarantee of stirring up more economic recovery programs amid certain geopolitical and regional risks. As some economists have described it, the national economy can be harmed by domestic headwinds, both on the political and economic fronts.

At the same time, the country has been battered by its exposure to intense climate-related extreme weather events that have surfaced many Philippine communities’ vulnerabilities, owing largely to governance deficits at the local, regional, and national levels. And as if these are not enough, we are still reeling from the unstable prices of fuel, especially diesel, brought about by the United States of America and Israel’s common aggression to wipe out the Islamic Republic of Iran. Article continues after this advertisement For all these issues, Mr.

Marcos has not issued strong statements on how to manage all these serious headwinds that can possibly topple our very survival as a nation. Looking back at the political events from last year, there had been a series of small and incremental tensions and irritants that led to deep political conflicts, fragmentation, and heightened political division among supporters of the two major political dynasties—the Marcoses and the Dutertes. Key events included the midterm May 2025 elections, whose results revealed that they had become a “proxy war” between Mr.

Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte and her family. Article continues after this advertisement On May 11, 2026, the House of Representatives impeached VP Sara for the second time. And ahead of the Senate trial, political and “dramatic” events took place there that caused several changes in the Senate leadership.

Then Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa had a warrant of arrest issued against him by the International Criminal Court (ICC), related to allegations of his active participation in former President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly war on drugs. For the past six months prior to his sudden appearance in the Senate halls on May 13, 2026, Dela Rosa had been in hiding, obviously as a way to evade being arrested by local authorities on the strength of an ICC warrant.

Dela Rosa’s sudden appearance in the Senate was, by his own admission, a way to “help out” his friend, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, to ensure that he would wrest control of the Senate presidency from his predecessor, Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.

The ruckus that happened after Dela Rosa’s sudden appearance is something for the books in the Senate’s erstwhile prestigious history–this has never happened before, said former Senate President Franklin Drilon in a national television interview. Then Dela Rosa went into hiding again, this time with the facilitation of Sen. Robinhood Padilla.

As of last week, Padilla has been informed that he might be charged with “obstruction of justice” for helping Dela Rosa “escape.” When the Senate finally convened after a hiatus of more than two weeks, it elected a new president—Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian.

On July 6, 2026, the Senate was convened as the impeachment court for VP Sara. And in another twist in the Senate drama, former Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero was elected the impeachment court’s presiding judge. Mr.

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