MANILA: Bruised by the May midterm election and shadowed by a stalled impeachment trial against his erstwhile ally Vice-President Sara Duterte, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr used his fourth State of the Nation address to project strength and reclaim authority amid growing doubts over his leadership.
Breaking from his run-of-the-mill speeches in the last three years, Marcos on July 28 laid out a series of populist promises aimed at improving welfare and infrastructure programmes for ordinary Filipinos: Free dialysis at state-run health centres, payment of teachers’ unpaid overtime salaries, electricity and water supplies in far-flung areas, and expanded transport services for key urban centres were among the initiatives mooted.
