'SONA2025,' 'President Marcos,' 'PhilHealth' among top trends after Marcos' 4th SONA
A number of 2025 SONA-related keywords made it to the top trending topics on X after President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s fourth State of the Nation Address on Monday, July 28.
The President officially reached the halfway mark of his six-year term as he addressed members of the 20th Congress, government officials, the diplomatic corps, and others at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City, recounting his administration’s accomplishments in the past years as well as their plans for the rest of his presidency.
After Marcos concluded his speech—where he talked about alleged corruption in flood control programs, boost in government services (health, infrastructure, transportation, and more), concerns about the education sector, among others—keywords such as "SONA2025", "President Marcos", and "PhilHealth" landed on the list of trending topics on X.
Under the hashtag "SONA2025," which now has more than 9,000 posts, some users highlighted Marcos' vow to hold corrupt government officials accountable in connection with the country's flood control programs that ended up as failures, unfinished, or ghost projects.
"In perhaps the most surreal moment of SONA 2025, Mr. Marcos castigated faulty, corruption-tainted flood control projects while receiving a standing ovation from lawmakers and officials likely responsible for the same faulty, corruption-tainted flood control projects," one user wrote.
"Galit si PBBM sa mga 'flood control na palpak at gumuho, at ang iba ay guni-guni lamang.' The President is demanding accountability. Wow, I’m so impressed!" another said.
There were some, however, who criticized Marcos' speech, pointing out important issues that he failed to touch on.
"SONA 2025 had critical issues that were missed: 1) online gambling and the rise of gambling addiction, 2) continuation of issues surrounding the West Philippine Sea, 3) the tariff deal with the United States. This SONA had barely any benchmarks on key issues of the Filipino masses," one user posted.
Another one quoted Marcos when he said that the government is closely monitoring students' mental health.
Noting that it's the system that's been taking a toll on their mental health, they wrote, "We do not even feel any improvement. Kaya kadalasan gustong lumisan at magmigrate."
Trending moments, memes
Social media feeds were also filled with memes related to Marcos' fourth SONA.
Online users poked fun at the part where Marcos called out water service providers and their joint venture partners who have caused water interruptions due to alleged sloppy planning and maintenance.
Viewers noticed how the camera then panned to newly proclaimed senator Camille Villar, whose family-owned PrimeWater Infrastructure Corp. is facing a legislative inquiry after multiple complaints about its services in various parts of the country. (Amid the investigation early this month, PrimeWater vowed to show cooperation and have meaningful dialog in light of the concerns affecting millions of customers.)
"OMG! BBM hits water districts and joint venture agreements (infamously with Prime Water) for poor service. Papanagutin daw ang mga nagka sala! Then the camera pans to Camille Villar. Puksaan na!" one user posted.
Another moment that drew laughs from the crowd and social media users was when Marcos gave a humorous shoutout to PNP chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III while he was spotlighting the country’s athletes for being role models.
"Dahil sa mga ito, ang ating kabataan ay maagang namumulat sa isports, humuhusay, at tumataas ang kumpiyansa. Sumusunod sila sa yapak ng ating mga kampeon at world-class na athlete: tulad ni Senator Manny Pacquiao, ni Hidilyn Diaz, ni Caloy Yulo, Aira Villegas, Nesthy Petecio, EJ Obiena, Alex Eala; ang paralympians natin na sina Jerrold Mangliwan, Cendy Asusano, Angel Mae Otom, at Ernie Gawilan. Isama na rin natin ‘yung bago nating kampeon si PNP Chief Nic Torre," Marcos said.
As the camera panned to Torre, the police chief couldn't help but laugh and stand up after being recognized.
Torre was declared the winner by default of the "Boxing for a Cause" match against Davao City acting Mayor Sebastian "Baste" Duterte, who challenged him to a fist fight but ended up as a no-show last Sunday, July 27.
Marcos' 2025 SONA clocked in at one hour and 10 minutes, making it his shortest SONA to date. Unlike his past speeches, Marcos kicked off his address in Filipino, sticking with it for the most part. Read the full text of his 2025 SONA here.