President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. used part of his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 27, to lay out what he described as a more proactive, technology-driven disaster response system, while also pledging tax relief measures to help the middle class cope with the lingering effects of the Middle East-driven economic crisis.

Tax relief for the middle class

Marcos said the government would pursue tax relief measures aimed at supporting the middle class amid the continuing economic strain, describing the planned measures as designed to promote growth, generate revenue, and advance equity toward what he called socio-economic sustainability. The President did not specify further details on the scope or timeline of the proposed tax measures in this portion of his address.

Lessons from recent disasters

Marcos said the past several months had underscored three lessons for the country: the importance of security and stability in energy, food, foreign relations, and the safety of citizens wherever they may be; the government's ability to act swiftly and appropriately in crises; and the resilience of the Filipino people in the face of these challenges.

He cited the government's response to a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck off the coast of Sarangani, Mindanao in June 2026, which triggered landslides, a tsunami warning, and coastal uplift affecting farming and fishing communities in the region. 

It followed an earlier magnitude 6.9 earthquake that hit Bogo City and nearby towns in Cebu in September 2025, and Typhoon Tino (Kalmaegi), which made landfall multiple times across the Visayas and Palawan in November 2025, a string of disasters that, combined, killed more than 300 people and displaced over half a million residents.

Marcos said the government had assisted more than 600,000 families affected by the recent earthquakes, with more than ₱3 billion released for immediate aid in the form of food, medical care, financial assistance, and housing support. He added that water, power, communication lines, and roads in the affected areas were gradually being restored, and said the government's mission extended beyond one-time relief toward helping communities fully recover and rebuild.

A shift to predictive disaster response

The President said the country had moved from a reactive to a "not only proactive, but predictive" approach to disaster management, aided by digital tools. He credited this shift to strategies including public-private supply chains, hub-and-spoke warehousing, automated production, and the wide-scale pre-positioning of food and non-food supplies in local government units.

Marcos said the government has now built a nationwide disaster response network consisting of primary disaster resource centers in Luzon and the Visayas , with one planned soon for Mindanao, supported by 15 hubs, 76 spokes, and 919 last-mile facilities across the country. He said this infrastructure now allows the government to deliver emergency relief and nourishment to affected areas in under 24 hours, down from the response times of past disasters.

He also cited the deployment of Mobile Energy Systems to restore emergency power in areas hit by outages during crises, alongside the Government Emergency Communications System and the country's first satellite-to-mobile service, both intended to keep communication lines open nationwide during disasters.

Marcos further pointed to the concept of a "State of Imminent Disaster," which he said allows the government to prepare and respond ahead of a calamity rather than waiting for it to strike.

He said that, taking these lessons into account, the government's broader mission going forward would not simply be to uplift Filipinos, but to ensure the security and self-sufficiency of the nation and its citizens.

Rising fuel prices and public transport

Marcos also acknowledged the impact of rising fuel prices on ordinary Filipinos, many of whom rely on public transportation, signaling a transition in his address toward the government's transport and commuter assistance measures amid the continuing fuel crisis.

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