IN NUMBERS: Does mentioning priority legislation in SONA guarantee enactment?

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 27, 2026, will once again report on the past year’s accomplishments, ongoing efforts, and priorities looking forward. But these priorities can change, depending on the current political climate and public interest. Some legislation are stalled, diverted, or long forgotten in the gutters. Which of the past administrations were clear about their legislative priorities and which saw them through actual enactment into law? Here’s a review of the past and present administrations and their performance in terms of enacted legislation. What is priority legislation? Legislative priorities are bills or policies recommended for national, regional, provincial, or local development planning. But it was not until 1992, through Republic Act No. 7640, that former president Fidel V. Ramos institutionalized the process through the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC). Professor Jean S. Encinas-Franco of the University of the Philippines Diliman’s Department of Political Science said that these bills or policies undergo a series of consultations with both houses for finalization before presidents deliver their SONA. According to the former director of the Senate Economic Planning Office, this is where the LEDAC discusses legislation aimed at boosting the country’s socioeconomic development and ironing out differences between the executive mechanism and legislative branches of government. Once the priorities are set, the president selects a few of the discussed legislation to mention during his or her annual address. Then during the SONA, the president calls for Congress to expedite passage of these bills. Passing rate of SONA priority legislation This graph shows a comparison of the last three presidencies. Benigno S. Aquino III Rodrigo R. Duterte Ferdinand Marcos Jr.* * Note: Marcos Jr. has yet to finish his term and only includes four SONAs. Sources: SONA Transcriptions, Senate Bills, and LawPhil Project All three administrations saw that more than half of the priority legislation did not become law. According to Cagayan Vice Governor Manuel Mamba, who served as chief of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office from 2012-2015, some legislation were never meant to be passed and only served to make an administration look good. “When it doesn't fit the interest of those in power and those in the legislature and the politicians, it's just there to die a natural death. And that is why sana hindi nila pina-prioritize kung alam naman nilang hindi napapasa. So fina-file lang ’yan basically because it is not meant to pass.” (And that is why they shouldn’t prioritize it if they know it will not be enacted. They’re just filing it because it is not meant to pass.) Either the House of Representatives or the Senate can introduce or refile a bill. Both can also file identical or companion bills, which can place importance or urgency on the issue being sought to be addressed. Yearly count of legislation brought up during SONA This graph shows the annual number of legislation mentioned by each president. Source: SONA Transcriptions In 2011, former president Benigno S. Aquino III did not call on Congress to pass any legislation during his SONA. The most number Aquino mentioned was 10 in 2013. Mamba noted that the Aquino administration was “proactive” in introducing pieces of legislation, including those that were never entertained or prioritized before. But during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte, the number skyrocketed. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Duterte called for the passage of 21 priority bills. Among these were government agencies focused on disease prevention, control, and virology. The pandemic also struck the nation’s wealth at the time, prompting the enactment of legislation targeted at economic recovery. A year prior, in 2019, Duterte had 19. Mamba pointed out that Duterte’s term was “reactive” and focused on addressing the pandemic. He also said that the Marcos administration had to be reactive in the wake of the UniTeam division. The Marcos-Sara Duterte tandem crumbled in 2024 after a series of conflicting events, including different political stances, Cabinet resignation, open hostility, and, eventually, the impeachment trial of the Vice President. “They could have done so much in the first three years if only they were together, if only there was no division,” Mamba mentioned. “That is why this is more now dictated on the survival of the administration and to keep them acceptable to the people.” The current administration’s count dipped coming into his third year. Marcos’ focus began to pivot from wishlist bills to those that could address current issues that affect Filipinos. “If you look at the Marcos priorities now, para sa akin, it's not really institutional in nature,” Mamba mentioned. (For me, if you look at Marcos’ priorities now, it’s not really institutional in nature.) “It's more of the immediate impact that they are after, for just to sustain themselves in power,” he added. Marcos’ midyear performance contradicts the previous two administrations, which saw an increase in the number of measures introduced. Encinas-Franco explained that an administration may be pressured to come up with defining “legacy” measures, given it’s halfway through its term. Despite its label, less than half of each president’s list passed and eventually enacted, whether within the same year or later. Priority bills enacted into law across administrations This graph shows the rate of passage of each legislation mentioned by the last three presidents. * Note: Marcos Jr. has yet to finish his term and only includes four SONAs. Sources: SONA Transcriptions, Senate Bills, and LawPhil Project Overall, Aquino had the fewest number of bills mentioned during his SONA and passed into law. Only eight of the total 23 mentioned during his presidency were enacted. The two other administrations saw similar percentages in terms of unpassed legislation. However, Duterte had a larger sample size during his term. But Encinas-Franco cautioned against being rigid in interpreting priority legislation, as its label does not guarantee passage. She noted that all legislative measures take a long time to be enacted due to different factors. “You are also competing with the rest of the other proposed measures in the legislative mill,” she said. “Also, if there's a lot of pushback from civil society movements, from business interests, then it also becomes quite challenging to have it passed.” These groups and public opinion can also pressure Congress to refile revised bills that were not enacted in the previous legislative period. Unexpected events may push back these priorities as well — such as, according to Encinas-Franco, the recent call to revisit the minimum age of criminal liability, following the school shooting in Tacloban City. Budget is also another factor why some legislation are stalled, said Encinas-Franco. In 2022, Marcos vetoed the creation of a transportation safety board due to redundancies with the functions of the Department of Transportation, the Philippine National Police, and the National Bureau of Investigation. The argument was that adding another government body would require funds to sustain operations. “If the government is in a tight fiscal situation, then of course, people and even legislators would be sensitive to creating a program or an organization that will be perceived by the public as a waste of public funds,” she noted. Mamba added another factor: the interests of members of Congress. “Profit of the capitalist dictates the norm,” he said. “Most of our politicians are politicians of vested interests, especially of the money of our country. And most of them are supported also by the oligarchs of this country, and most of them are members of the oligarchy.” Setting own agenda Not all measures mentioned are consulted with LEDAC. The president is also a major agenda-setter of legislation, according to Encinas-Franco. Inclusion in the Common Legislative Agenda This graph shows the number of bills that are included in and not included in the Common Legislative Agenda (CLA). Sources: SONA Transcriptions and LEDAC Presidents have called for the passage of numerous pieces of legislation that are not included in the Common Legislative Agenda (CLA). Excluding 2014, all three administrations mentioned at least one measure during the SONA that is not included in the CLA. Compared to the Aquino and Marcos administrations that announced 10 and 14 pieces of legislation, respectively, that were part of their wishlist, the Duterte administration had the highest number at 27. “The legislators who are members of LEDAC, may disagree, but largely, the president is very powerful,” said Encinas-Franco. “Even if we say that there is separation of powers, the president has tremendous power in legislation,” she added. — Rappler.com Coding for this layout was done with the assistance of AI.