Our SONA 2026: State of Naning Adlaw-Adlaw

After going through the courtroom drama that is the impeachment, the Dutertes rallying supporters in a world tour, Mindanawans surviving earthquakes and floods, who still wants to watch PBBM’s SONA?

Unless he makes true of the bente pesos bigas, gives away Tallano gold, everyone is going to remember this SONA 2026.

No one wants to go through this afternoon listening to two hours of statistics, accomplishments, promises, and declaring we are now a middle income country, when it’s far from happening.  People are in survival mode.

Nasinati tag linog, baha, walay trabaho.  This is our state of the nation or SONA: State of Naning Adlaw-Adlaw.

Naning is short for naningkamot, a thing we Filipinos are never run short of doing in our lifetimes.

SONA can also mean the State of Ngarag Adlaw-adlaw, the pressures of making ends meet, surviving traffic in big cities, trying to clean up houses after floods.

Now, Alan Peter Cayetano is coming up with his “alternative SONA”.  With the way he twists facts and legal gobbledygook and blasts us with nonsense over his FB live, let’s call this the State of Cayetano Address or SOCA.

Neither are we happy with Duterte.  In the middle of the city’s floods, Mayor Baste joins his party assembly.  He is just being true to himself.  He came from partying in a club in Ibiza before the flood.  Party dito, party doon, party animal.

He should have his own SOBA: State of Baste Address. But where is his address? He is always absent.

SONA is also State of Nalulunod na Ako.  Baha, utang, an overload of TikTok and Facebook rants overwhelming our sense of being.

SONA is also a State of Nothingness Achieved.  When the speech is full of accomplishments kuno that are not felt by the people.  Our pockets are as empty as his promises.  Our morale is as low as BBM’s popularity and trust ratings.  We are tuning out.

Nothing gets the people’s attention now than Robin Padilla’s story of Romanovs and communists and which makes a good conversation topic over drinks.  That is another SONA: State of Nalalasing sa Amats.

Maybe we should tell the President to live up to his name.  BBM: Bongbong Bangon, Mag-ayos ka na.

(Mind da Noise is a column by jaded Mindanawon observers.)