Disasters, rising inflation, school shootings: Regional issues for SONA 2026

There’s a plethora of regional issues, from disaster recovery to school violence, that need to be addressed in Marcos’ 2026 SONA. But what do you think deserves the spotlight? CEBU, Philippines — The months following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s 2025 State of the Nation Address (SONA) brought a series of catastrophic events that inflicted major economic setbacks on many parts of the country. These included destructive earthquakes and typhoons that brought widespread flooding, as well as widening wage gaps and school shootings that placed healthcare, education and major infrastructure projects under prolonged, indefinite strain. Despite the Marcos administration’s campaign against corruption in government, rising prices and the costs of post-disaster recovery continue to haunt ordinary Filipinos. Worse, parents now have to worry about bullets raining down on their children right in their own schools. These are some of the issues that deserve mention in Marcos’ fifth SONA on Monday afternoon, July 27. Earthquakes and floods in Visayas and Mindanao On September 30, 2025, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake with a depth of 5 kilometers struck the northern part of the vote-rich province of Cebu, primarily destroying homes in Bogo City, and several neighboring towns. Not too long after, the province would face another disaster, Typhoon Tino (Kalmaegi), that made landfall eight times in major Visayan provinces and Palawan in the first week of November 2025. These successive disasters collectively claimed the lives of at least 334 people, caused the displacement of more than half a million victims, and resulted in estimated agricultural losses of no less than P695 million. Mid-2026 saw Mindanao facing an even stronger quake – a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck off the coast of Sarangani province, which triggered deadly landslides and a massive coastal uplift affecting the livelihoods of farmers and fishermen, respectively. EVACUATION. Residents living on the mountainside gather their belongings as they evacuate after a landslide following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Barangay Kapatan in Glan, Sarangani province on June 10, 2026. Photo by Noel Celis/Reuters The Marcos Jr. administration has pledged millions of pesos for recovery efforts in the affected provinces but groups have called out public officials for seemingly exploiting humanitarian aid to further entrench themselves in power. Recently, widespread flooding in Davao City caused by heavy rain due to the southwest monsoon has brought back even more questions into the progress of the state’s inquiry into the flood control corruption scandal. From politicized aid to the slow pace of the flood control probe, how will Marcos address the holes in the country’s disaster response framework and recovery systems? Livelihoods, rising price of goods Based on a Pulse Asia Research survey held from June 28 to July 3, addressing corruption, livelihood opportunities and the affordability of goods ranked the highest among topics that Filipinos want to hear during the President’s SONA, especially in Visayas and Mindanao. At the start of 2026, unemployment in the country was at its highest since June 2022. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the unemployment rate was at 5.8%, or close to June 2022’s 6%. The unemployment figure translates to 2.96 million jobless Filipinos in January 2026, higher than the recorded 2.17 million jobless Filipinos in the same month last year. The same PSA report showed that the country’s agriculture industry lost 1.42 million jobs in the beginning of 2026. Among several factors of the public’s frustration over the agriculture sector is the price of rice. In May 2025, the Department of Agriculture (DA) pilot tested the sale of rice at P20 per kilo — Marcos’ campaign promise — in the Visayas, particularly in Cebu. However, in late April 2026, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said that an increase in rice prices – ranging from P60 to P62/kilo – is to be expected by September 2026 due to rising fertilizer costs. PRICE OF RICE. A vendor sells imported and local rice at Central Market in Sta. Cruz, Manila, on May 7, 2026. Inflation in the country reached a three-year high of 7.2% in April 2026 primarily due to tensions in the Middle East triggering an oil shock that pushed fuel and food prices higher. Rice inflation skyrocketed up to 11% in April 2026 from 3.6% in March 2026. What is Marcos’ plan for the rest of the year? Will he give up on his P20/kilo dream and face reality or stick to the charade? Violence encroaching child spaces A month before Marcos’ scheduled SONA, a fatal shooting incident in Tacloban City, Leyte, shook the nation, raising concerns over the country’s child protection measures and cybersecurity infrastructure. Two minors, aged 14 and 15, were arrested after killing three students and injuring 20 others at the San Jose National High School in Barangay San Jose. Marcos ordered a thorough investigation into the shooting which took place in the political bailiwick of his cousin, former House speaker and Leyte 1st District Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. Initial police reports found that one of the shooters was heavily influenced by extremist online content. This wasn’t the first case — officials from the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) earlier revealed in an April 2026 Senate hearing that there have been other instances of minors planning and acting out school shootings as early as October 2025. Authorities have traced these cases from Marikina to Negros Occidental. On July 15, the Department of Education (DepEd) carried out its first active shooter drill at Manila Science High School. While addressing flood control corruption remains a top priority discussion for many adult Filipinos, the question remains as to how the administration is going to answer the needs of the country’s future generation. Do you feel that there are more issues in the regions that have to be addressed in the President’s 2026 SONA? Let us know in the Liveable Cities channel of the Rappler Communities. – Rappler.com