Flood control, the rising cost of living and government accountability are the issues Filipinos want President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to address in his State of the Nation Address (SONA), according to a year-long Facebook sentiment analysis by Capstone Intel Corporation.
The conversations also showed growing public frustration over fuel prices, concern for the safety of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East, and lingering questions about whether the government’s anti-corruption drive is leading to real accountability.
Flood control topped the list by a wide margin. It accounted for 43.8 percent of all SONA-related discussions, with 1,668 Facebook posts generating nearly 572,000 engagement points, the highest among all issues tracked by Capstone Intel.
More than the flooding itself, people wanted to know who would be held accountable. The report said online discussions have shifted to the controversial flood-control budget insertions, with many users looking for charges, recovered funds or convictions instead of updates on investigations.
Questions also remain over whether flood-control projects are actually working. Flood-control posts posted the highest “Haha” reaction share at 58.2 percent, which the study said reflects public skepticism rather than amusement in Philippine political discussions on Facebook.
The same pattern showed up in the year’s most engaging Facebook post. A video of Marcos saying flood-control measures “appear to be working” registered an engagement score of 71,615.1. Of the post’s 412,823 reactions, 91 percent were “Haha” reactions.
The cost of living also figured prominently in the conversations. Although inflation was not tracked as a separate issue, discussions about fuel prices repeatedly turned into conversations about household expenses and the economy. The announcement of a ₱2,000 cash aid for households affected by rising fuel prices drew 32,118 Angry reactions, the highest for any post in the database.
Meanwhile, discussions involving the Middle East conflict, fuel prices and OFW protection generated the highest average engagement per post at 611.8, nearly twice that of public service programs. The issue also recorded the highest Sad reaction share at 5.7 percent, reflecting concern over the safety of Filipinos working in conflict areas.
Questions about corruption also remained. Capstone Intel said discussions involving contractors and alleged ghost projects generated 655 posts and 187,379 engagement points, showing that many Filipinos are waiting to see whether those responsible will actually be held accountable.
For Capstone-Intel Chief Executive Officer Geraldine Brillantes, the findings suggest Filipinos are looking less for promises than proof.
“The data is telling us something very simple: Filipinos aren’t rejecting this government’s record—they’re rejecting the gap between what’s said and what’s shown. Every claim that came with a receipt, an arrest warrant, a finished classroom, a signed agreement, was met with trust. Every claim that came with only an adjective, ‘effective,’ ‘urgent,’ ‘don’t worry,’ was met with ridicule or anger, even when the underlying program was sound,” according to her.
Capstone-Intel Research and Publications Director Ella Kristina Domingo said government agencies should focus on showing measurable results instead of simply making announcements.
“Our recommendation to the Palace is not to talk more. It’s to talk with proof. Pair every flood-control update with a checkable number. Pair every relief package with the plan behind it, not just the payout. That is the difference between being believed and being mocked in the same news cycle,” she added.
The report analyzed 3,809 SONA-related Facebook posts from a database of 9,456 unique posts monitored between July 20, 2025 and July 20, 2026. Engagement scores were based on reactions, comments and shares to determine which issues generated the strongest public attention ahead of SONA.
Capstone-Intel’s Social Listening service provide real-time awareness of online conversations and media narratives for proactive communication and decision-making.