Last year, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s first State of the Nation (SONA) address provided a clear picture of his administration’s priorities. The SONA last year gave rise to forty-two priorities that were created under the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council, with four of these being implemented into law. Over the course of his first year, some of these priorities that have been enacted are the New Agrarian Emancipation Act and a law modernizing the Armed Forces of the Philippines, among others.

Just as the SONA in the previous year outlined the administration’s priorities, there is an expectation that the SONA this year will provide more insight into the continuing governance framework that will be implemented in the next 5 years. In the assessment of the President’s SONA, past commitments will also be laid out, as new promises will be made. In this address as well, achievements of the president in his first year will be laid out with the expectation of more in the following years. Therefore, a thorough analysis of its content, outlined policy directions, and even goals must be scrutinized.

Alongside the need for an assessment of the first year through the President’s SONA, a study of Pulse Asia conducted last month provided insight on the state of anti-corruption in the Philippines. Namely, questions such as the most beneficial impact of controlling corruption, effects of corruption that affect people the most, and whether mechanisms that deal with corruption should be strengthened have been explored. As economic concerns have been at the forefront of people’s minds, questions on what these results mean in the context of the President’s current programs in the upcoming year and in the years ahead, changes on policy directions springing from these programs, as well as opportunities and challenges that may be encountered on the second year will need to be explored further.

With this in line, the Stratbase ADR Institute, in partnership with Democracy Watch Philippines, organized a post-SONA assessment through a webinar entitled, “Rhetoric vs. Action: Reviewing the Alignment of Promises and Implementation under the Marcos, Jr. Presidency”, which was held on 28 July 2023, Friday, from 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM (PHT).

This event brought key figures in various key areas that will be able to provide insights and assessments on President Bongbong Marcos Jr.’s second State of the Nation Address and the recently released anti-corruption survey. The event also featured economic, governance, social, and foreign policy perspectives on current and potential policy directions of the Marcos Jr. administration, and steps forward coming into the second year.