Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 24) – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday delivered his second State of the Nation Address (SONA). While the commander-in-chief discussed several key issues faced by his administration, he also remained mum on pressing subjects.
Here are some things that Marcos left out in his one hour and eleven-minute-long report to the country:
WPS, China, defense
Marcos did not mention Beijing’s harassment of Filipino vessels in the West Philippine Sea during his SONA, which was attended by China’s Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian.
Though he promised to defend the country’s sovereignty, he did not condemn the global superpower and its continued disregard of the arbitral ruling which nullified its claim over the South China Sea.
READ: Marcos silent on Chinese harassment in WPS in 2nd SONA, vows to defend sovereignty
Marcos likewise did not mention the existing or pending defense agreements with countries such as the United States, Australia, and Japan.
This was criticized by fisherfolk group Pamalakaya.
“President Marcos’ apparent silence on the issue of our national sovereignty reflects his administration’s neglect to address the sea row,” the group said.
“We were expecting that this urgent matter that involves our national territory and integrity is at the centerstage of the state of the nation.”
ICC probe
The president also did not mention the resumption of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) probe into the brutal drug war of the Duterte administration.
He earlier said the Philippines would no longer cooperate with the ICC, a move which other government officials supported.
READ: ‘No appeals pending’: Marcos refuses to cooperate with ICC on drug war probe
New agriculture secretary, rampant importation
Marcos, who is also the current agriculture secretary, did not name a successor despite calls for his replacement.
He also did not talk about his administration’s tendency to import commodities, particularly sugar.
The Marcos administration has so far greenlit the importation of 740,000 metric tons of the product.
The administration has likewise drawn flak over its alleged illegal importation.
READ: SRA approves importation of another 150,000 MT of refined sugar
‘Love the Philippines’ tourism fiasco, government rebranding
Marcos did not address the “Love the Philippines” campaign fiasco where the Tourism department’s third-party contractor used stock footage of foreign locations to promote the country’s tourism industry.
READ: Ad agency apologizes for using foreign stock footage for ‘Love the Philippines’ video
The country’s tourism campaign costs ₱49 million but the agency said it spent no public funds on the video.
Meanwhile, the national government and several of its agencies have also undergone rebranding during Marcos’ first year in office. Some of these attempts have drawn flak from the public.
Attacks on elected officials
It was during Marcos’ first year in office that Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo was assassinated.
While the commander-in-chief highlighted the strengthening of the police and military, he did not mention the spate of attacks against local elected officials.
According to the Commission on Human Rights, there were 34 attacks on local officials resulting in 38 deaths from June 2022 to June 2023.
READ: Culture of impunity: Attacks on local officials in first year of Marcos admin
Press freedom
Several journalists and media workers were killed and attacked during the first year of the Marcos government but the president failed to mention any of them in his speech.
Veteran broadcaster Percival “Percy Lapid” Mabasa was gunned down in October last year.
A radio journalist from Oriental Mindoro was shot dead in May 2023.
The following month, a photojournalist was ambushed. His four-year-old nephew was killed while three of his family members were injured.
Transport woes
While Marcos mentioned railway projects and road developments in his address, there was little mention of the controversial modernization of public utility vehicles and the impending jeepney phaseout.
READ: LTFRB: Jeepney phaseout will happen in 2-3 years
“Dismayado kami kasi ni ha, ni ho hindi nabanggit ang transport sector at hinaing namin,” Transport group Piston president Modesto Floranda told CNN Philippines in an interview.
[Translation: We are dismayed that the transport sector and its demands were not mentioned.]
Manibela suspended its planned three-day transport strike that began on July 24 to protest the administration’s alleged failure to address the transport sector’s needs.
“Tinawagan po tayo ng mga ahensiya ng gobyerno upang mag-usap patungkol sa ating kilos protesta. Dahil alam nilang walang binanggit ang ating pangulo na kahit ano para sa transportasyon… sa lahat po ng nagtatanong ‘dismayado’ po tayo,” Manibela said on Facebook.
[Translation: Government agencies have called us to talk about our strike. Because they knew Marcos said nothing about transportation… to those asking, we are dismayed.]
Minimum wage
Even though the National Capital Region saw a minimum wage hike just this month, he didn’t talk about further daily pay increases throughout the country.
“For the second straight year ‘nakabibingi ang katahimikan ni BBM hinggil sa maiinit na isyu ng manggagawa [BBM’s silence on the issues of workers is deafening],’” the Federation of Free Workers said after the address.
“The silence about the wage increase, ending contractualization and recognizing the right to organize are so deafening, workers can hear the silence with their empty stomachs and overworked bodies,” it added.
Wage hikes are currently pending in only five regions outside of the recently enacted one in Metro Manila.
READ: NCR just saw a wage hike, what about the other regions?
Missing legislation
Political analyst Kristoffer Berse, during CNN Philippines’ special SONA coverage, highlighted key pieces of legislation which Marcos did not mention.
“Hindi na nabanggit yung rightsizing ng bureaucracy. Isa ‘yan sa mga naka-highlight last time. Hindi rin nabanggit yung [national] land use act,” Berse said.
[Translation: Rightsizing the bureaucracy was not mentioned anymore. This was highlighted in his last SONA. The National Land Use Act was also not mentioned.]
“Even yung modernization of the budget system, yung pag-adopt ng [Even the modernization of the budget system, the adoption of] cash-based budgeting. Yung [the] e-government – there was a lot of talk about digitalization partly on the side of the government, pero yung mismong government to proceed towards e-government hindi na yon naipresenta [but the government’s move to proceed towards e-government wasn’t presented],” he added.
LIST: Mandatory ROTC among BBM’s priority measures in SONA 2022
