What happened to Marcos' promises in his past SONAs?
As Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. hits his halfway mark as Philippine president, his list of promises to the public has become longer and more ambitious as he continues his term.
In his previous State of the Nation Address, Marcos delivered firm statements regarding the country's sovereignty over the West Philippine Sea and a complete ban on Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators nationwide, on top of his administration's significant achievements and ambitions.
In his fourth SONA, the president discussed issues such as corruption in flood control programs, improving the education and health sector, and boosting economic growth, among others.
Three years into the Marcos administration, are the country's chief executive's bold declarations and sweeping commitments matched by concrete results?
Here are the major promises Marcos made during his last few SONAs, as well as his latest address, and where they currently stand:
Imposing a total ban on POGO
Year: 2024
Status: Implemented
Steps taken: Marcos issued Executive Order No. 74 that ceases all illegal offshore gaming operations, license applications, license renewals, and cessation of operations on Nov. 8, 2024
Stronger action against smuggling and hoarding that threaten food security
Year: 2023
Status: Implemented
Steps taken: Marcos signed Republic Act No. 12022, which fines and imprisons those who are caught smuggling, hoarding, and profiteering from agricultural and fishery products
Recalibration of the Kindergarten to Grade 10 curriculum
Year: 2023
Status: In progress
Steps taken: The Department of Education implemented the revised Matatag K-10 curriculum for the school year 2024 to 2025. It will be rolled out in phases, with full implementation expected by 2028.
Providing teaching allowance to public school teachers
Year: 2024
Status: Implemented
Steps taken: Marcos has signed RA 11997, or the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act, which seeks to provide additional teaching allowance from P5,000 to P10,000 to almost 800,000 public school teachers.
Imposing value-added tax on digital service providers
Year: 2022
Status: Implemented
Steps taken: Marcos signed RA 12023, imposing a 12% value-added tax on foreign digital service providers to generate revenues for the government in 2024.
Freeing agrarian reform beneficiaries from debt
Year: 2022
Status: Implemented
Steps taken: In 2023, Marcos signed the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, benefiting more than 600,000 Filipino farmers.
Asserting claim on the West Philippine Sea
Year: 2024
Status: In progress
Steps taken: In November of that year, Marcos signed RA 12064, or the Philippine Maritime Zones Act, and RA 12065, or the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act, which aim to reinforce the country’s entitlement and responsibility within its maritime zones.
Establishing the Board of the Loss and Damage Fund
Year: 2024
Status: Implemented
Steps taken: Marcos enacted RA 12019, granting juridical personality and legal capacity to the Loss and Damage Fund Board, which will respond to loss and damage due to climate change.
Distributing land titles to farmers
Year: 2024
Status: In progress
Steps taken: In its 2024 year-end report, the Department of Agrarian Reform said that as of May 2025, it has distributed 203,765 land titles to farmers since the beginning of the Marcos administration. The agency's goal is to distribute 400,000 land titles by the end of 2025.
Bringing affordable and accessible health services
Year: 2024
Status: In progress
Steps taken: PhilHealth now includes dental care, chemotherapy, optometric services in their packages, open heart surgery, and more. In his 2025 SONA, Marcos announced that zero-balance billing would be implemented at Department of Health hospitals.
Enhancing MRT and LRT services
Year: 2025
Status: In progress
Steps taken: MRT and LRT now offer discounted rates to families and students, and are now accepting card and mobile payments. Meanwhile, MRT7 trains are expected to start trial operations by late 2025, with full operations targeted for 2026.
Creation of the Department of Water Resource Management
Year: 2023
Status: Unfulfilled
Steps taken: Senate Bill 2412, which seeks to create the Department of Water Resources Management, has still not been passed.
Making Reserve Officers' Training Corps mandatory in senior high school
Year: 2022
Status: Unfulfilled
Steps taken: SB 2034, or the proposed ROTC Act, has yet to be finalized.
Issuing 92 million National IDs by the middle of 2023
Year: 2022
Status: Unfulfilled
Steps taken: As of June 6, the Philippine Statistics Authority has delivered only 54,913,634 physical national ID cards.
Improving internet service
Year: 2024
Status: In progress
Steps taken: In his 2025 SONA, Marcos reported that the country's internet infrastructure has been enhanced with the completion of the first three phases of the National Fiber Backbone project. It saw an increase in nationwide free Wi-Fi sites from 4,000 in June 2022 to nearly 19,000 this year. Reports said that DICT has secured funding from the World Bank to accelerate phases 4 and 5.
No public school teacher will retire with the entry-level Teacher 1 rank
Year: 2024
Status: In progress
Steps taken: Congress has passed the finalized bill for the expanded career progression system among public school teachers. It is now awaiting Marcos’ signature.
Address bullying and depression among students
Year: 2025
Status: In progress
Steps taken: Marcos approved the funding request for building child development centers in various parts of the country.
Pushing for free college tuition
Year: 2025
Status: In progress
Steps taken: A total of 260,000 students were given free college tuition since the start of the administration. Marcos promised to invest P60 billion to fund free tuition for students in public colleges and TechVoc programs.
Lowering the price of rice to only P20 per kilo
Year: 2022
Status: In progress
Steps taken: The P20 per kilo rice program was implemented in May and was first available at Kadiwa centers for indigents, senior citizens, solo parents, and persons with disabilities.
Making Kadiwa stores permanent
Year: 2023
Status: In progress
Steps taken: The government is eyeing to reach 1,500 Kadiwa stores nationwide by 2028. There are now 286 Kadiwa stores, 169 pop-up stores, and 122 Kadiwa Centers as of June 2025.
'Build Better More'
Year: 2022
Status: In progress
Steps taken: The government has 207 infrastructure flagship projects lined up, based on data from the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development. Seven have been completed in 2024, while 73 are still ongoing.
Creation of several health establishments
Year: 2024
Status: In progress
Steps taken: The DPWH has started the construction of the Philippine Cancer Center in Quezon City.
Improving roads
Year: 2024
Status: In progress
Steps taken: The EDSA rehabilitation project was slated for June 2025, but Marcos postponed it to explore options that would ease the impact on commuters. According to data from the DPWH as of October 2024, 35.36% of roads in the Philippines are in good condition, while 6.68% are in bad condition.
Creating more airports
Year: 2024
Status: In progress
Steps taken: Over 70 airport and seaport projects were completed across the archipelago, with at least 350 more projects targeted to be finished within the next few years.
Creating jobs and livelihoods
Year: 2024
Status: In progress
Steps taken: The Philippine Statistics Authority revealed that the Philippine jobless rate fell to 3.9% in May 2025, down from 4.1% in both April 2025 and May 2024
"Bloodless” drug war
Year: 2024
Status: In progress
Steps taken: While the Philippines has seen fewer drug-related killings compared to the Duterte administration, the Dahas project of the Third World Studies Center of the University of the Philippines reported that there have been 1,022 drug-related killings during Marcos’ reign as of July 23, 2025.
Improving the power supply
Year: 2025
Status: In progress
Steps taken: The government was able to give electricity to 2.5 million homes in the past three years. However, there are still severe power outages happening, such as the one in Siquijor in June. Marcos also said in his 2025 SONA that almost 200 new power plants will be functional before the end of his term in 2028.
Reviving the Love Bus
Year: 2025
Status: In progress
Steps taken: The Love Bus, a free bus program that was popular in the 70s, is currently pilot testing in Davao and Cebu.
Faster police response
Year: 2025
Status: In progress
Steps taken: In June, Philippine National Police Chief Gen. Nicolas Torre III showed Marcos through live bodycam footage that police personnel are able to respond to emergency calls within five minutes.
Probe into flood control projects
Year: 2025
Status: New promise
Steps taken: Marcos ordered the DPWH to "immediately submit" to him the list of flood control projects from every region that were started and completed in the last three years.
Acting against entities causing water supply issues
Year: 2025
Status: New promise
Steps taken: Marcos has ordered the Local Water Utilities Administration to go after water service providers as well as their partners that fail to provide adequate water supply.
New national program for sports
Year: 2025
Status: New promise
Steps taken: Marcos is seeking to develop a new national program for sports development. He also wants sports clubs and intramurals to be conducted in all public schools.