Corruption, food prices top State of the Union issues in polls

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivers his fifth State of the Nation Address today, amid mounting calls to follow through on his promise to purge government corruption and tackle the country’s other pressing issues — rising prices, jobs, poverty — as raised in a survey ahead of his penultimate address.

Today’s address will set the Marcos administration’s roadmap for the last two years of his term, with lawmakers urging him to go beyond promises and rhetoric and deliver concrete institutional reforms.



The latest survey by Pulse Asia released over the weekend echoed these sentiments.



While bringing down the cost of food remains a foremost concern, public attention has also increasingly shifted toward strengthening the fight against corruption as well as creating more jobs.



Conducted from June 28 to July 3 and released on Saturday, the Stratbase Group-commissioned survey found that three in 10 Filipinos (30 percent) identified making food more affordable — particularly staples such as rice, meat and fish — as the government’s top priority.



The proportion of respondents who said the government should lessen or eliminate corruption to provide better services increased to 28 percent from 26 percent in March, while those who prioritized creating more jobs and livelihood opportunities rose to 28 percent from 24 percent.