DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 7 August 2026) – Every State of the Nation Address (SONA) is part legislative report, part carefully choreographed theater. Subsidized rice programs (Benteng Bigas) and targeted tax relief offer temporary relief, but they avoid the core causes of economic distress. Agrarian Stagnation: Temporary agricultural relief cannot replace genuine agrarian reform that puts land into the hands of tilling farmers. The VerdictThe administration’s State of the Nation Address outlines a modern corporate state—efficient for investors, cooperative with foreign powers, and managed through targeted subsidies. But a genuine state of the nation cannot be measured by foreign direct investment or frozen bank accounts alone.