Marcos on whether he will tackle corruption in 2026 SONA: 'Stay tuned'

"Abangan ang susunod na kabanata (Stay tuned for the next chapter)."

This was the brief response of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. on Friday when asked if he will mention in his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) this Monday, July 27, the corruption issues he previously exposed.

According to the President, he is almost done writing his speech for his SONA, but he may still tweak parts of his script before he delivers it.

"I'm never done. Until one hour before the SONA, I'm still changing it, you know, because, of course, we want it to be perfect," Marcos said in an ambush interview in Pampanga.

"But on the whole, yes, on the whole, I would say the actual language is 90% plus done. We're just fixing it up and making sure that it's not too long or it's not too short, that we have everything that we want to talk about is already included," he added.

Marcos also said he always considers the SONA as a report to the public on what has happened since the previous nation address.

"And that is what we will take up, of course. I will make sure that people know all of the things that we have done to navigate this very difficult period in our history, where we are buffeted by all of these external forces," he said.

"But nonetheless, our response has been good, and we have had to make adjustments, but those adjustments have been effective and have served their purpose. And I know that it has helped people weather this storm and continue to weather this storm until things hopefully normalize," he added.

Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro on Thursday floated the possibility that a major announcement may be made by the President in his fifth SONA.

"Lagi naman pong ganu'n," Castro told reporters when asked if Marcos is expected to deliver an "earth shaking announcement" during his fifth SONA. — VDV, GMA News