President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. faces heightened public pressure to tackle graft and corrupt practices during his upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA), with a significant portion of the population demanding accountability regarding contentious flood control developments, according to a Pulse Asia survey published Friday, July 24.
The poll revealed that nearly three in ten Filipino adults (29.8%) consider anti-corruption initiatives the most urgent topic for the Chief Executive to highlight in his July 27 speech.
Within that group, 18.9% specifically want authorities to probe and prosecute those linked to the flood control project controversy, whereas 10.9% called for general measures to combat corruption.
High prices of basic goods emerged as the second most pressing concern, cited by 18.7% of citizens. Additional topics respondents want addressed include job generation and livelihoods (6.6%), poverty reduction (6.2%), illicit drug enforcement (5.5%), wage increases (5.1%), rising fuel costs (4.9%), agricultural matters (4%), crime prevention (2.8%), and the state of public education (2%).
A smaller segment pointed to tracking campaign promise progress (1.6%), Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment proceedings (1.2%), juvenile justice reform (1%), Senate leadership dynamics (1%), and welfare programs for senior citizens (1%).
Geographically, anti-corruption efforts dominated public interest across Metro Manila (35%), balance Luzon (32.7%), and Mindanao (29.7%). Demographically, it was the top choice for Class ABC (42.1%) and Class D (29.6%).
Conversely, respondents in the Visayas listed commodity affordability as their main priority (22.7%), followed by corruption (19.3%). Class E respondents similarly prioritized affordable goods (23.8%) and poverty alleviation (15.9%) over anti-corruption (13.8%).
The survey also highlighted that 81% of adult Filipinos are familiar with at least one past SONA delivered by Marcos. Pulse Asia noted awareness rates spanned 70% to 90% across regions and 71% to 89% across socio-economic brackets—figures that align closely with the June 2025 “Ulat ng Bayan” study.
Conducted via in-person interviews with 2,400 adults aged 18 and above from June 28 to July 3 and July 6, the nationwide study has a ±2 percentage point margin of error at a 95% confidence level.
The pollster reiterated that the research was non-commissioned and carried out without influence from political, financial, or religious entities.