As President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. prepares to deliver his 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA), the same concerns continue to echo across the nation: affordable food, healthcare, jobs, and peace and order.
According to the latest Pulse Asia survey, inflation remains the top concern for the majority of Filipinos — not geopolitics, not the West Philippine Sea. People want relief from rising prices, accessible healthcare, decent employment, and safety in their communities. Even the President has said: “People want results, not more politics.”
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But the reality on the ground tells a different story. Prices keep rising. Jobs are scarce. Crime and corruption persist. Yet many politicians appear more interested in using the Philippines as a platform for great power confrontation than delivering actual services or solutions.
Filipinos at Risk – At Home and Abroad
We have handed over key strategic provinces — Palawan, Cagayan, Isabela, Zambales — to the American military through expanded EDCA sites. And in exchange, what have we gained? Certainly not better treatment for our overseas workers in the United States.
In fact, there are credible reports that Filipino OFWs may face deportation under new US policies. Even more outrageous, some are reportedly slated for deportation to unstable countries like Libya or El Salvador.
Back in the Philippines, our own fishermen are being banned from fishing in traditional waters — not by Chinese ships, but during American military exercises. They receive no compensation for lost income. No protest from government. No protection. Just silence.
Meanwhile, coral reefs are being destroyed by live-fire drills, and coastal communities in Palawan and Zambales are exposed to toxic waste from foreign militaries operating on our soil.
Selective Outrage, Skewed Narratives
Groups like Atin Ito have drawn headlines for symbolic gestures in the West Philippine Sea, yet remain conspicuously silent about thousands of Manila Bay fishermen displaced by massive reclamation projects — projects backed by business and political elites.
Where is the advocacy for these affected communities? Why the selective outrage?
While the Philippines Provokes, ASEAN Builds
The biggest tragedy is this: while our leaders posture on the global stage, the rest of Southeast Asia is moving forward — with China as their key partner.
China’s strategy in the region isn’t just military — it’s economic integration. The China-Laos railway now connects to Thailand and is expected to link all the way to Malaysia and Singapore. Indonesia, for its part, just launched the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail — the first in Southeast Asia — with Chinese support. These are not just trains. They are arteries of a new regional economy.
This pan-Asian railway corridor, stretching from Singapore through Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, and into Yunnan province in China, is a game-changer. It allows goods, services, and people to flow freely across the region — bypassing the Philippines entirely.
While ASEAN states grow more interconnected with China through railways, ports, power grids, and tech parks, we’re still debating where to host foreign troops and whose war we’re willing to fight.
Even Cambodia, Vietnam, and Myanmar — despite historical tensions with China — have benefited from infrastructure projects, trade incentives, and tourism.
China uses hard power only with the Philippines, and soft power with the rest of ASEAN. The result? While our economy stagnates, theirs continue to expand.
Questions That Deserve Answers
Why are we allowing Filipino civilians to be used as human shields in disputed waters?
Why do we keep provoking China while knowing the potential consequences — a blockade of all Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea, or worse, military retaliation?
Are these provocations feeding hungry Filipinos? Are they creating jobs? Will they bring affordable rice to our tables?
And what of our sovereignty? After everything Marcos Jr. has given the US — from bases to diplomatic cover — America still slaps us with 20% tariffs. That’s not partnership. That’s exploitation.
Filipinos Deserve Better
We are not anti-America. We are pro-Filipino. But that means calling out hypocrisy. That means putting Filipino interests first — not being used as cannon fodder in someone else’s rivalry.
Let’s stop allowing foreign powers to dictate our future. Let’s stop being pawns in a geopolitical game that only benefits others. The children of this country deserve more than poverty, polluted seas, and policies dictated from Washington.
Let’s start demanding answers — and demanding results — from those in power. Before it’s too late.
