SONA sa Katawhan: Cebu groups press for higher wages, lower prices, accountability

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Calls for higher wages, lower prices of basic goods, accountability in public spending, and improved flood control took center stage as around 200 members of various cause-oriented groups staged the “SONA sa Katawhan 2026” in Cebu City on Monday, July 27.

They held the event hours before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivered his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Central Visayas led the activity, joined by labor, urban poor, farmer, fisherfolk, and student groups, which organizers said sought to present the people’s assessment of the country’s situation and amplify issues they believe the government should address.

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SONA sa Katawhan

The protesters assembled at the Cebu Provincial Capitol before marching toward Colon Street, where they held a program highlighting what they described as the concerns ordinary Filipinos confront.

During the mobilization, Jaime Paglinawan, chairperson of BAYAN Central Visayas, said the groups do not expect President Marcos to address what they considered among the country’s most pressing concerns in his SONA later that day.

He said these include calls for a living wage, the continued practice of contractual employment, the rising prices of basic commodities, and alleged corruption involving the administration’s political allies.

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Paglinawan also pointed to Central Visayas’ inflation, saying the region currently has the country’s highest inflation rate, as he questioned whether the President would discuss the factors contributing to the rising cost of living.

Calls for economic relief and accountability

According to BAYAN Central Visayas, they wanted to highlight the widening gap between government claims of economic progress and the conditions many Filipinos experience.

Groups argued that despite the country’s classification as an upper-middle-income economy, many workers and families continue to face low wages, high prices of basic goods, job insecurity, and declining purchasing power.

BAYAN also raised concerns over the country’s public debt, which it said had reached approximately ₱18.55 trillion, and questioned how government resources are being used amid what it described as persistent poverty and inadequate public services.

Foreign policy, natural resources

The organizations likewise called for greater accountability in government spending, particularly on infrastructure projects. They cited allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds in flood control programs while urging that public funds instead be directed to projects that genuinely protect communities from flooding.

Apart from economic concerns, groups also criticized what they described as the Marcos administration’s continued accommodation of foreign interests in the country’s economy and strategic resources.

The groups cited Pax Silica, which they claimed could further open the country’s natural resources and strategic industries to foreign exploitation while putting communities, workers, farmers, and the environment at risk.

SONA sa Katawhan: Effigy burned

They also opposed what it described as the administration’s continued reliance on foreign military intervention and militarization. They said that the Philippines should not serve as a platform for the geopolitical and economic interests of foreign powers at the expense of national sovereignty and public welfare.

As part of the protest program, participants burned an effigy depicting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte along Colon Street.

According to the organizers, the effigy symbolized their criticism of the Marcos administration and what they described as the widening gap between the government’s claims of progress and ordinary Filipinos’ everyday lives.

People’s SONA: Police maintain security

Various units of the Philippine National Police fanned out along Colon Street to secure it during the mobilization.

Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) City Director Police Colonel Ricky Sumalde said that authorities had the situation under control and assured the public that police would observe maximum tolerance throughout the activity.

The mobilization concluded before President Marcos delivered his fifth State of the Nation Address, with organizers reiterating their calls for government accountability, economic relief, improved public services, national sovereignty, and broader social reforms.

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