Among the disgruntled Filipino who watched, marched and protested during the July 27, 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. were the religious—Roman Catholics, Protestants, evangelicals and the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI)—organized under the “One Faith. One Voice. One Nation Faith.” coalition that issued a statement entitled “Shine Light: Restore Public Trust,” based on Ephesians 5:13-14a: “And when all things are brought out to the light, then their true nature is clearly revealed; for anything that is clearly revealed becomes light.”
In last year’s SONA, Marcos Jr. admitted that flood-control projects have become rackets, the complete opposite of his 2024 SONA that gloated over the completion of 5,500 such projects based on a report by former public works secretary Mark Villar, now a senator also under the gun for his role in pushing scam-ridden project. One Voice said in three SONAs, Marcos Jr. first gloated, then realized he had been fed garbage the following year and now tries to make hay by blaming lawmakers and corrupt public works officials for graft. The coalition then asked “The question remains: who allowed corruption to happen, and who benefited?” Four bishops of the United Methodist Church (UMC), 17 Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) bishops and eight bishops of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) signed the statement.
“Corruption is not an accident. It is systemic. It thrives on patronage, political dynasties, impunity, and the absence of genuine accountability. While communities are drowning in floods, public funds are siphoned off and the poor are bearing the cost. We must continue to shine light on the heartbreaking truth: widespread and systemic corruption remains deeply rooted in government. The Filipino people deserve more than admissions and promises. We deserve independent investigations, the prosecution of everyone involved in flood-control scams, and accountability at every level, including those who have the power to prevent such corruption,” One Voice said in a statement signed by hundreds of bishops, ministers, nuns and representatives of various congregations engaged in direct community action.
In a separate statement, the Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR) said: “Sa ikalimang State of the Nation Address (SONA) ni Bong Bong Marcos Jr., muli na naman maririnig ng sambayanan ang mga ulat ng umano’y pag-unlad ng ekonomiya, imprastraktura, at seguridad. Ngunit bilang mga taong simbahan na naninindigan para sa katotohanan, katarungan, at kapayapaan, hindi natin maaaring ipikit ang ating mga mata sa araw-araw na karanasan ng mamamayan na salungat sa ipinipintang larawan ng administrasyong US-Marcos Jr.” PCPR’s Rev. Homar Distajo said the real state of the nation is deepening poverty, the chasm between the rich and the poor, higher inflation rate, the denial of decent, well-paying jobs to millions of Filipinos condemned to be unemployed or underemployed. “Habang lumalaki ang kita ng malalaking korporasyon at dayuhang negosyo, patuloy namang dinaranas ng mga manggagawa ang mababang sahod, ng mga magsasaka ang kawalan ng lupa, ng mga mangingisda ang pagkawala ng kabuhayan, at ng maralitang lungsod ang walang katiyakang kinabukasan,” Distajo added.
“Nakababahala rin ang higit pang pagsandig ng administrasyong US-Marcos Jr. sa kapangyarihan at interes ng Estados Unidos. Sa halip na itaguyod ang isang tunay na malaya at nagsasariling patakarang panlabas, lalo nitong ibinubukas ang bansa sa pagpapalawak ng presensyang militar ng dayuhan, pagdami ng mga kasunduang militar, at paggamit sa Pilipinas bilang lunsaran ng tunggaliang hindi para sa interes ng sambayanang Pilipino. Ang ganitong patakaran ay naglalagay sa ating mamamayan sa panganib habang lalo pang isinusuko ang ating pambansang soberanya. Ang ganitong pagsusuri ay kaayon din ng mga inilatag na puna sa mga kampanya laban sa pagpapalawak ng presensyang militar ng US at sa pagiging papet ng Pilipinas sa interes ng imperyalismong US,” PCPR stressed.
The Marcos Jr. regime touted the elevation of the country into an upper middle- income country (UMIC) as the gross national income (GNI) per capita rose to $4,850. This is nothing to crow about, the independent Ibon Foundation explained since it meant losing concessional loans. The increase in GNI has nothing to do with closing the income inequality gap and it comes as 10% of the wealthiest Filipinos gobbled up 60% of the income, with the rest dividing 40% of the income. Moreover, both manufacturing and agriculture are going down, with most Filipinos benefiting from the $35-billion in OFW remittances and incremental gains from call center companies. Government is making a big thing out of the UMIC reclassification without explaining that it is a technical measure for the World Bank (WB) and means that the Philippines has the money to pay for higher interest loans. That is the grim reality hidden by the regime. It hides the fact that only the oligarchs, the plutocrats and their servitors earn a windfall, and they have done so since the republic was established.
Human rights advocates also denounced the SONA for not tackling human rights violations, the abuses of foreign mining companies in Nueva Vizcaya and Cordillera, the looming destruction of the environmentally-protected area in Romblon, where more than 70% of its fauna are unique, for the benefit of a bureaucrat-capitalist family, the establishment of the 1,600-hectare Pax Silica reservation in Capas, Tarlac despite opposition by the people, the destruction of Aeta ancestral land in Subic that has become a mismanaged garbage dump. The SONA never dealt with the incarceration Charlize “Ceeka” Garzon, who was accused of killing a soldier in Mindoro in a clash where her presence was fabricated by the military. Garzon cannot carry a rifle, much less bear the heavy load of a warrior’s backpack. Neither was there any mention about the arrest of Dr. Ana Marie Rilloraza and 10 activists and health and community workers from the Cordillera. Her case is a repeat of the infamous Tanay mass arrest of doctors, nurses and health workers that led to the conviction of top Philippine Army (PA) officers for illegal detention.
All told, 560 political prisoners still languish in prisons and jails nationwide while the killings of the Toboso 19 still remain unresolved, along with the murders of many other civilians and legitimate New People’s Army (NPA) fighters who were summarily slain, obviously in pursuit of the “no quarter” policy embodied in the US Counterinsurgency (Coin) doctrine. Only one army commander apologized for the murder of an activist leader, with hundreds of other killings not admitted by forces implementing Memorandum Circular No. 32 (MC 32) and Executive Order No. 70 (EO 70) that the unlamented ex-president Rodrigo Duterte signed in 2018. EO 70 created the hyper-budgeted National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) in a futile effort to eliminate the NPA. #
