SONA 2025: The Rich Were Praised, the Poor Were Helped, and the Middle Class Was Forgotten (Again)
President Marcosâ 4th State of the Nation Address was filled with numbers, promises, and applause lines. He talked about growth, foreign investment, and how millions of Filipinos were lifted from poverty.
âWe logged âą950 billion and âą45.48 billion in investment pledges in the first half of 2024.â
âAlmost âą3 trillion worth of green-lane certified projects are underway.â
The government proudly celebrated the rich bringing in capital and the poor receiving assistance. And thatâs not a bad thing. Itâs good that weâre attracting investors and helping those most in need.
â2.5 million Filipinos have been lifted from poverty.â
â1.7 million fewer Filipinos canât afford food.â
But letâs be honest about who was left out. Again.
đ§ââď¸đ§ââď¸The middle class.
The ones working overtime to fund those very investments.
The ones paying full taxes with no ayuda, no subsidies, no exemptions.
The ones who carry this economy but get nothing in return.
No tax breaks. No public praise. No targeted programs.
Weâre just expected to keep payingâand keep quiet.
Meanwhile, the rich have exemptions. They know how to work the system. And the poor, as they should, get support.
Weâre not against helping the poor. Weâre not against encouraging investment. But we are against a system that feeds and funds everyone except the people holding it together.
Letâs talk about 4Ps. Yes, itâs helped a lot of families. But letâs not pretend the system isnât flawed. Many of us know people receiving government support who are living better than those working 9 to 6 jobs every day just to get by. Some even have cars and small businesses, while weâre still calculating our grocery budget down to the last peso.
Weâre not asking for handoutsâweâre asking for balance.
Because when you keep handing people fish without teaching them how to fish, no one moves forward. And the people who already know how to fish? Weâre drowning in silence, because weâre never even acknowledged.
Weâre the ones who file taxes on time.
Who donât qualify for anything.
Who get told âyouâre not poor, be grateful.â
But in this economy? That line is getting blurry real fast.
âPoverty went down,â they said.
But what they didnât say is that the middle class is sliding closer to it every day.
Weâre not just tiredâweâre invisible.
đ˘ So hereâs our SONA:
The ones who get no credit but pay for everyone elseâs.
Weâre not the underserved.
Weâre the ones in betweenâand weâre falling through the cracks.
Comment if youâre tired of being ignored.
Because the middle class deserves to be seen, too.