A senator welcomed specific pronouncements from the administration and laid out a legislative path ahead, detailing how the government’s proposals must be pushed further and challenging the glaring omissions in the nation’s education, health and anti-corruption agendas.
Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV confirmed his physical absence from the recent State of the Nation Address (SONA) delivered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and was among 13 senators who did not attend the joint session physically, standing alongside majority colleagues Senators Vicente “Tito” Sotto and Panfilo “Ping” Lacson.
He explained that his current duties as a senator-judge in an active impeachment trial necessitated strict, unbiased boundaries to ensure complete legislative objectivity.
“Nasa isip ko kasi na-judge ako ngayon ng impeachment, at karamihan ng mga congressman are the complainants. Kapag pumunta ka sa SONA, syempre, that is the big show of the administration. Naisip ko na bilang isang judge, mas maganda na wala ako sa isang sitwasyon na pwede kang maimpluwensyahan,” he explained.
The senator highlighted that informal sidebar chats with active prosecutors and complainants at such high-profile events risk compromising the appearance of neutrality.
“Sa panahon ngayon that we have to keep our objectivity, mas maganda siguro kung umiwas namuna tayo sa mga ganyang ganyang events… You’re a judge and you should be objective. You should be unbiased,” he said.
Analyzing the address, Aquino identified three major highlights but immediately challenged the legislature to expand their scope to truly benefit the public.
He lauded the President’s swift declaration that multiple charges will be pressed against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez over flood control anomalies. Noting the political difficulty given that Romualdez is the President’s cousin, Aquino praised the line: “Hindi ako presidente ng pamilya ko, presidente ako ng Pilipinas.”
The administration announced an increase in the annual income tax exemption from P250,000 to P350,000. Aquino welcomed this but pointed out it falls short of the current economic reality.
He revealed that he filed a similar bill on July 9, 2025, pushing for a P480,000 annual exemption (amounting to roughly P40,000 a month).
“Ang isang family of five needs close to P40,000 per month income para umabot sa living wage… I honestly think 350,000 is low, pero definitely magandang balita ito. Mapapasa natin ito peropagdedebatihan kung 350 ba, 400 ba, o 480,” he said.
Marcos called for amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) to ban utility companies from passing “systems loss” charges (about 5% to 6% of the bill) to consumers. While Aquino agrees with the relief, he argues that the cleanest, most impactful path is to completely removing the 12% Value Added Tax (VAT) on electricity.
“Kung tatanggalin mo ‘yung systems loss at tatanggalin mo si VAT, that’s 17% na pwedeng mabawas sa electricity bill mo. Mas klaro, mas malaki, at mas ramdam ng tao,” he said.
The most critical part of Aquino’s assessment focused on vital, life-changing reforms that were noticeably missing or downplayed during the President’s address.
He expressed deep frustration over the sluggish execution of school infrastructure projects. While the administration previously targeted 40,000 classrooms, this year’s address omitted concrete goals, leaning instead on a private sector commitment of 16,000 units.
Aquino exposed the underlying cause and citing recent Senate hearings that the Department of Education spent seven months validating 45,000 school sites all at once before downloading funds to Local Government Units (LGUs) and the DPWH.
Consequently, out of a record-breaking P67 billion allocation for 2026, only a Biliran province has successfully received classroom funding.
“Nababagot na talaga ‘yung mga tao… Higit sa mga mayors, ‘yung mga bata. Ang mga bata nag-aaral pa rin sa ilalim ng yero, sa mga pasilyo, at nagsisiksikan sa covered courts. Almost all of these 2026 classrooms will be finished third quarter of 2027 pa. This delay is unacceptable,” he added.
Expressing deep concern, Aquino also flagged the complete lack of structural, systemic anti-corruption solutions in the SONA,specifically the CADENA Bill. The legislation utilizes blockchain technology to create an immutable integrity chain over the national budget, enforcing absolute transparency. Backed by over 200 tech groups and good governance NGOs, the Senate passed the bill unanimously, but it remains stalled in the House.
“Hindi binanggit si CADENA… I was really hoping the President will say let’s push for it. Huwag tayong makuntento sa pagpapakulong ng ilang senador o ilang congressman. Let’s make sure na hindi na ito mauulit-ulit at ipasaang CADENA law,” he said.
Despite the heavy dual-workload ahead on impeachemnt and legislative work, Aquino vowed to fiercely monitor fund utilization, eliminate government bottlenecks and champion the bold socio-economic relief that everyday Filipinos urgently deserve.
“Marami pa talaga ang kailangang gawin,… It just goes to show na we just have to push harder and work even harder to get these laws passed,” he said.
