By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
I find it new, though far from amusing, that President Marcos began his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday with a confession: that his administration had its share of misgivings. I don’t know if that’s courage or simply self-cornered awareness — boxed in by a week of flooded streets, stalled commuters, and public rage.
Let’s rewind: Just days before his SONA, much of the capital — supposedly the best-funded in terms of infrastructure — was underwater. This is Metro Manila, the country’s main metropolis, where flood mitigation projects are supposedly executed to their best.
Wasn’t it just a year ago when Marcos harped on and hype that 5,500 flood control projects had been completed since his administration took over in 2022? If this is the best the billions can buy, what more outside of the nation’s capital?
Former COA chief Heidi Mendoza put it best in her vlog last week: auditors need to go down the rabbit hole — did we lay drainage? Install pumps? Dredge rivers? Or just bury the money beneath concrete and silence?
There are many red flags in dredging and flood control projects, she says, because the execution is difficult to verify.
Then there’s his US visit, meant to soften trade tariffs but producing little more than lipstick diplomacy. The US shaved one percent off a looming 20% duty, and we called that a win. In exchange, we dropped our auto tariffs and promised to import more US wheat and pharma.
That’s unsettling, given that Trump confirmed in Europe that, “For the world… (negotiations for tariff cuts) it’ll be somewhere in the 15% to 20% range.” Strategic as we are in the Pacific, the message was clear: the Philippines is not that important.
And so when Marcos stood before the nation on Monday, it was a battered nation he addressed — soaked from days of rain, stranded on inundated roads, and some even punished by their employers for not braving floodwaters just to time-in for attendance.
To these types of employers, let Firing Line remind you of Labor Advisory No. 17, which protects workers from unsafe conditions. If the streets are rivers, staying home is a right — not a reason for reprimand.
In the end, Marcos’s SONA wasn’t just delivered under gray skies — it was soaked in the puddled frustrations of a nation tired of wading through the same broken promises.
Who else is disappointed?
Firing Line took note of Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco’s disappointment, exposing (well, not really, since it seems like the common practice) Speaker Martin Romualdez’s discretionary sway over DSWD programs aiding the less fortunate.
Tiangco’s rant that House members “have to beg” from the Office of the Speaker for allocations for inclusion in DSWD’s Ayuda para sa Kapos ang Kita Program (AKAP) and the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) may not be right, but it doesn’t come as a surprise.
House defenders would naturally dish out the official line that congressional referrals don’t guarantee approval. But most of us already know that’s just on paper.
Of course, Tiangco’s adverse stance highlighted last Monday by his decision to abstain from voting for Romualdez as Speaker of the 20th Congress doesn’t help his cause.
In a House where 269 lawmakers marched in line, Toby’s step-aside signal only makes for unrewarded asks moving forward. I hope I’m wrong.
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