[OPINION] SONA naman, BBM will be honest

In his next State of the Nation Address (SONA), the President must do the unthinkable: be genuinely honest. When was the last address that reflected the true, well, state of the nation? Our answers will vary, but, unless you are a BBM loyalist, they all share the same message: it has been a long time. The SONA is the most important message a President gives every year. It is a report to all Filipinos of the administration’s accomplishments, identifying the critical and priority issues in the country, and presenting the plans to tackle them. It is an exercise in transparency, a sign of a healthy democracy, and a way for citizens to hold the government accountable for every word uttered in this speech. But lately, this has not been the case. Take the SONA from last year. Controlling the flood of criticisms Arguably, no other issue has defined the current presidency more than flood control. After bragging about the thousands of flood control projects in his 2024 address, his administration suffered its biggest crisis in reputation as the public saw just how widespread the corruption in these infrastructure projects was. As of now, the President’s promise in last year’s speech to hold those accountable for this fiasco has been largely unfulfilled. Only millions of pesos have been formally recovered instead of billions. Several current and former officials have been arrested, but none of the alleged masterminds are behind bars, with a few basically playing hide-and-seek with the authorities. The Independent Commission on Infrastructure was ultimately ineffective in pushing for structural reform and, towards its end, did not even have a quorum to properly function — sounds familiar, doesn’t it? The Department of Public Works and Highways continues to allow gray infrastructure projects of “national significance” that favor corporate interests at the expense of the natural environment and communities that depend on them. And that is just the tip of the iceberg that was the 2025 SONA, which was like a one-man performance of a struggling actor in front of a claque. Never forget that it largely ignored issues of actual national significance: low wages, human rights violations, and tensions in the West Philippine Sea, among others. It featured statements that are so out of touch with realities on the ground that he might as well be describing a different country. Touting macroeconomic gains like being classified as an upper-middle-income country ultimately means nothing to a nation that feels the impacts of severe challenges in almost every aspect of life these days. The true state of the nation The first half of 2026 has been the worst for Filipinos since the COVID-19 pandemic. The energy crisis due to the war in the Middle East has again exposed longstanding issues in the energy sector: overreliance on fossil fuels, grid collapses, too much privatization of infrastructure, even higher electricity bills, and poor crisis management, to name a few. There are crises everywhere around us — aside from energy, there is potential water bankruptcy, food insecurity, and, of course, the climate crisis. Speaking of the climate, there is a possibility of a “super” El Niño and super typhoons hitting the same communities in the final months of the year. We hope the President actually communicates this as an emergency that requires more urgent and transformative solutions, and does not come across as another new normal that Filipinos should just get used to. After all, nothing screams an unhealthy democracy like a government with officials who twist the calls of the public to fit their own agendas. When we say we need more foresight in governance, we don’t mean lawmakers already looking ahead to the 2028 elections and prioritizing it over the crises of today. When we call for transparency, we don’t mean politicians who seemingly pride themselves on openly ignoring the laws and spreading lies for the sake of protecting their power or their allies. When we demand accountability, we don’t mean selectively going after suspected individuals just because they oppose the agenda or interests of those in power — from politicians to human rights defenders. From deaths within schools to climate-related disasters, does someone always have to die before the government even tries to implement true reforms? These issues are nothing new, but the fact that those in power are acting so brazenly while ignoring their mandate of serving this nation is nothing short of embarrassing. The Senate alone this year has felt like the worst reality show of all time — except it is not entertaining and is adversely affecting all of our lives. Keeping it real The President’s recent satisfaction ratings have been hitting low scores, and that is no surprise. His leadership in addressing crises in recent years has been middling at best, with everyone from the poorest sectors to rich investors expressing little confidence in his administration’s capabilities. It turns out that in governance, the most critical ability is accountability, which is becoming a lost art form in too many areas, from governance to athletics. If he wants to change his declining popularity, he needs to deliver a SONA that is different from the rehearsed, overproduced spectacle it has become. The old adage “honesty is the best policy” feels even more needed in present governance. We don’t want to see the audience clapping with seemingly every breath the President takes. We don’t care about attendees treating it like a fashion show. Is it too much to ask for a SONA that genuinely addresses the state of a weary nation? It cannot, of course, be limited to mere recognition in a speech — it has to be translated into actual reforms that truly prioritize the needs of Filipinos. Then again, this commentary was written knowing that no politician would ever do anything to harm their political image. Maybe the President will really just coast through the rest of his term, knowing his election alone has already restored the Marcos name to prominence anyway. Sorry for wasting your time — much like what the 2026 SONA would probably be. – Rappler.com John Leo Algo is the national coordinator of Aksyon Klima Pilipinas and the deputy executive director for programs and campaigns of Living Laudato Si’ Philippines.