As President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. prepares to deliver his State of the Nation Address, we remember the more than 30,000 lives lost in a senseless bloody drug war by former President Rodrigo Duterte as he awaits trial at the International Criminal Court. His daughter, the second highest official, Vice President Sara Duterte, is under investigation for crimes against the nation and abuse of her office.
Justice remains out of reach.
Ordinary citizens, journalists, students, critics, and innocent bystanders continue to vanish; disappeared, silenced, and killed. Corruption festers at every level of government, with billions of pesos plundered or misused, protected by a system designed toserve only the most violent and powerful families and oligarchs in our country.
And all the while, millions of Filipinos endure daily hardship: rising prices, hunger, inaccessible healthcare, collapsing education, indecent housing, low wages, contractual work for meager pay and constant criminal negligence especially during calamities. These are not abstract issues, they are the daily reality of the people.
So as we brace for the polished words of another SONA, one we have little faith in, let us use this moment to reclaim the conversation. Let us remember that democracy is not a performance delivered from a podium. It lives and breathes in the public square, in the streets, in our communities, in our refusal to stay silent.
We must know our rights, as guaranteed by the Constitution. We must demand that the rule of law applies not only to the poor, but most especially to those in power. That the wealth of this nation be managed for the benefit of all, not the few. That justice, dignity, and safety are not luxuries, but the bare minimum owed to every Filipino, today and for generations to come.
On July 28, 2025, the people will gather as well in the public square, physically and ideologically, to speak, protest, and reflect. History is written in moments like these.
Let us ask ourselves honestly:What is the true state of our nation?And what will we say and do about it?
