Will PBBM talk about corruption in his 2026 SONA?
Published Jul 24, 2026 12:52 pm
|
Updated Jul 24, 2026 01:13 pm
President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. delivers his fourth State of the Nation Address at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on Monday, July 28, 2025. (Mark Balmores/MANILA BULLETIN)
"Abangan ang susunod na kabanata (Watch out for the next chapter)."
This was what President Marcos said when asked whether he would address the corruption he exposed during his last State of the Nation Address (SONA).
During his fourth SONA in 2025, Marcos declared an all-out probe on "ghost" flood control projects around the country, slamming all those involved by saying "mahiya naman kayo (shame on you)."
Marcos tagged the failed flood control projects as "pigments of imagination," which caused a massive impact on Filipinos.
Expectations for a follow-up on the investigation grew high leading up to his fifth SONA on Monday, July 27.
'I'm never done'
Asked when he was done writing his speech for Monday's SONA, the President said, "I'm never done," but disclosed that he is 90 percent done with the speech.
"I'm never done. Until one hour before the SONA, I'm still changing it because, of course, we want it to be perfect," he said in an ambush interview in Mabalacat City, Pampanga, on Friday, July 24.
"But on the whole, yes, on the whole. I would say the actual language is 90-plus percent done. We're just fixing it up and making sure that it's not too long or not too short, that we have everything that we want to talk about already," he added.
Marcos explained that he always regards the SONA as a report of the President to the public about what has happened since his last public address.
"And that is what we will take up," he said. "Of course, I will make sure that people know all of the things that we have done to navigate this very difficult period in our history, where we are buffeted by all these external forces."
He, however, expressed satisfaction with how the government has been handling the response to the impacts of such "external forces."
"But nonetheless, our response has been good and we have had to make adjustments, but those adjustments have been effective and have had served their purpose and I know that it has helped people weather this storm and continue to weather the storm until things hopefully normalize," the President said.