4th SONA, 20th Congress, Supreme Court ruling, nature's wrath, etc.

The last week of July 2025 will be remembered for several unexpected events. It was the fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Marcos Jr., the start of the 20th Congress, the Supreme Court (SC) ruling on the Vice President's impeachment, the confluence of events, some volatile and theatrical.

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While the country was trying to recover from tropical cyclones Crising, Dante, and Emong which left a trail of destruction in many parts of the country, with 31 dead and an estimated loss of P8 billion in property, several developments on the political front were happening.

Malacañang announced that the SONA must go on, rain or shine, and requested everyone to come in simple attire. As in the past, the “other SONA” on the streets displayed their demands through audiovisual display of what they felt was the true state of the nation. Fortunately, the weather cooperated.

The President spoke for an hour in Filipino, describing the achievements of his administration. He had his share of applause as he cited the fight against hunger, investment in the Filipino through education, classrooms, early childhood training, PhilHealth, day care centers, feeding programs, hospitals, free training for jobs, infrastructure with farm to market roads, electricity, trained teachers, free college education, rehabilitation of bridges, water power, free WiFi, etc. It sounded like reports from past presidents. What he did not mention was how the government would monitor successful completion of these projects.