The impact of silence is such that what isn’t spoken about sometimes becomes the most important part of communication.
The same can be said of the fourth State Of the Nation Address (Sona) of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. or BBM. From health to sovereignty and from education to disaster management, BBM gave us an accounting of his administration’s accomplishments for the last three years.
But while the President’s resolve to improve Filipino lives sounded sincere, with his voice apparently cracking in emotion at times, he unfortunately failed to mention four things which, by their weight and importance, demand national attention: tourism, the Maharlika Investment Fund, online gaming and the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operations (Pogos).
Tourism, the Philippine Statistics Authority reveals, contributed 12 percent to the country’s gross domestic product in 2024, earning an all-time high of P760 billion in revenue. It also generated 4.5 million jobs last year.
As part of the national development agenda, tourism deserves a space in the Sona, unless there was a deliberate reason for skipping it such as the declining tourist arrivals under the watch of Tourism Secretary Cristina Frasco who ironically hails from the country’s top tourist destination: Cebu.
It also remains a mystery why the Maharlika Investment Fund was left out in the Sona. Founded in 2023, Maharlika is the country’s first sovereign wealth fund which is projected to support the government’s economic goals.
A total of P250 billion investment was raised by the Maharlika Fund from financial institutions like the Government Service Insurance System, Social Security System, Landbank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and the Department of Finance. Doesn’t such a vital investment fund deserve even just an update in this year’s Sona?
Online gambling, on the other hand, is an industry that generated an annual gross revenue of P410 billion in 2024. The figure is expected to rise to P480 billion this year, as the industry has given rise to gambling addiction. Lured by prospects of winning big amounts, the likes of jeepney drivers, vendors, security guards, housewives, office workers and business owners end up losing their income into bets, many being plunged into debt.
With the hype on online gambling and its social effects, why didn’t BBM mention it in his Sona?
The answer may be found in a social media post by Marie Antoinette Quiogue of the Romulo law firm who explains that the President must have wanted “to avoid a knee-jerk policy that could create more problems than it solves.” She adds that his silence “signaled a refusal to be rushed into a decision on a complex issue that demands more data, deeper study and a holistic understanding.”
Finally, there’s Pogo.
Our licensed Pogos peaked to more than 300 in 2019, earning more than P7 billion in fees. Of the 118,000 workers in Pogos, only 21,000 were Filipinos while the rest were mostly Chinese, a significant number of whom were undocumented.
In last year’s Sona, BBM shocked everyone by banning Pogos following reports that they figured in widespread money laundering, corruption, human trafficking, and torture. Even national security was involved.
So, what could have made BBM skip these four huge subjects?
It is hoped that the President has good reasons for it. Restraint, after all, is also an exercise of leadership.