Marcos prepares Philippines for war – State of the Nation Address

Marcos prepares Philippines for war – State of the Nation Address – depressed economy

Tue 4:00 am +00:00, 28 Jul 2026

posted by Tapestry

Marcos sounds alarm on ‘common threat’ in SONA

(Locals calling it Speech of No Achievement from a drug addict – that’s how angry people are with his economic management)

‘We are Filipinos, and we do not yield,’ President Marcos says in his 5th SONA, as he spoke of an unnamed ‘common threat’ days after the China Coast Guard harassed Philippine ships in the West Philippine Sea.

MANILA, Philippines — Weeks after a China state-run publication released a video depicting the Philippines and Filipinos as monkeys in criticizing the 2016 Arbitral Award, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. used his State of the Nation Address (SONA) to remind “our friends and our detractors” that Filipinos are “not greedy, not racist, and not liars.”

“Our unity and collective consciousness are challenged now greater than ever before. A common threat lies before us, directed against our dignity and self-respect as a people. Of late, our very humanity has been called into question. Let me remind our friends and our detractors: Filipinos are a noble, kind, gracious, and great race,” Marcos said in his 5th SONA on Monday, July 27 before an audience of legislators, officials from the executive, and the diplomatic corps.

Play Video‘Sa manlulupig, hindi tayo pasisiil’: Marcos sounds alarm on ‘common threat’ in SONA
“We are not greedy. We are not racists. We are not liars. We are respectful, and we are dignified. We are Filipinos, and we do not yield,” Marcos added, prompting a standing ovation.

While Marcos did not specify who his statements referrred to, his “reminders” to friends and detractors were followed immediately by a mention of the 2016 Arbitral Award and its 10th year anniversary.

Marcos noted the landmark decision, which China refuses to accept, is a “definitive benchmark for the interpretation and application of the [United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea].”

Play Video‘Sa manlulupig, hindi tayo pasisiil’: Marcos sounds alarm on ‘common threat’ in SONA
“This is not a claim that we advance alone, nor one that we will abandon. Your government will do all that is necessary to continue upholding this Award, utilizing every peaceful and legal means available to the Republic against any attempt, foreign or domestic, to undermine this achievement,” said Marcos.

This is the lengthiest Marcos has gone in speaking of foreign policy or geopolitics during a SONA, a speech typically devoted to domestic policy and plans.

Yet outside of the SONA, the Philippines has made explicit, in various ways, its view of China as a potential strategic and national security threat. External defense has been a priority by the military since 2023, when the National Security Policy was released. Various defense and security officials have also raised alarm over the threats to the cognitive space — or operations and efforts to influence how Filipinos feels and think, especially over how the country approaches its maritime and territorial defense.

Marcos has said that he wants a “reset” to bilateral ties with China — a goal administration talking heads have echoed. But it has not been easy.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea, including areas that are part of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which belongs to an area that Manila calls the West Philippine Sea.

Just the past week, as Manila hosted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and other top diplomats from all around the world for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings, maritime confrontations in Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal and Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough Shoal) raised already tense bilateral tensions between the Philippines and China.

Marcos himself had summoned Chinese ambassador Jing Quan to the Palace on July 21 over a confrontation in Ayungin Shoal that left two soldiers injured.

https://www.rappler.com/philippines/marcos-statement-common-threat-china-sona-2026/

TAP – As always before wars, governments drag their economies down. Marcos has spent four years doing exactly that. People are depressed on low static wages, high food and energy prices and rising tax.

Brian Berletic says the Philippines is being prepeared as the next Ukraine-style proxy to drag China into a war.