Filipinos want to hear about fight vs. corruption in Marcos' 5th SONA

MANILA, Philippines – The fight against corruption is the most liked topic that Filipinos want to hear from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. when he delivers his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 27. This is among the findings of a Pulse Asia Research survey held from June 28 to July 3, but released only on Friday, July 24. “For the President’s 27 July 2026 SONA, the top issue the public would like to hear him discuss or mention is his administration’s fight against corruption (29.8%), particularly efforts to investigate and hold accountable those involved in the flood control projects scandal (18.9%). This is followed closely by the issue of affordable basic goods (18.7%),” Pulse Asia said in a statement on Friday. The highlight of Marcos’ SONA last year was his crackdown on flood control corruption, which led to a government probe. Former senator Bong Revilla and Senator Jinggoy Estrada, among others, have been detained in a Quezon City jail over plunder charges in connection with the flood control mess, and the Ombudsman has identified the President’s cousin, former House speaker and Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez, as the “central figure” in the multi-billion flood control corruption scandal. Other SONA topics listed by at least 1% of Filipino adults include the following: Anti-corruption initiatives in general (10.9%) Jobs and livelihood opportunities (6.6%) Poverty (6.2%) Illegal drugs (5.5%) Low wages (5.1%) High fuel prices (4.9%) Agricultural issues (4%) Criminality (2.8%) State of education (2%) Fulfilling presidential promises (1.6%) Impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte (1.2%) Juvenile justice (1%) Senate leadership issue (1%) Welfare of senior citizens (1%) Among the issues that less than 1% of Filipinos would most like to hear in Marcos’s fifth SONA are improving public health (0.9%), peace and order (0.8%), case/situation of former president Rodrigo Duterte (0.7%), housing program (0.6%), reduced taxes/removal of taxes on basic commodities (0.6%), peace among bickering politicians (0.5%). The survey period was prior to the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, which began on July 6. This nationwide survey is based on a sample of 2,400 representative adults. It has a ± 2% error margin at the 95% confidence level, while subnational estimates for the geographic areas covered in the survey have the following error margins at 95% confidence level: ± 4% for Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. – Rappler.com