As President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. prepares for his annual State of the Nation Address (SoNA), regional advocacy groups and business leaders across the country are urging the administration to move past rhetoric and deliver concrete policy reforms.

From environmental defenders in the Cordillera mountains to small business operators in Cebu and progressive organizations in Panay, regional leaders are outlining their core expectations ahead of the address.

In northern Luzon, indigenous leaders say the true measure of the administration’s leadership hinges on whether the government will address the impact of large-scale development projects on ancestral lands.

Rogyn Beyao, secretary-general of Innabuyog-Kalinga, an indigenous youth organization, said women in the region are demanding an end to projects such as megadams, commercial mining, and wind farms operating without proper community consent.

According to women’s advocacy organizations, including Innabuyog-Gabriela and the Cordillera Women’s Education Action Research Center, ecological destruction heavily impacts women, who serve as primary food producers and family caretakers.

Community defenders also raised concerns over state militarization, harassment, and red-tagging directed at those opposing corporate resource extraction.

Advocates are calling for executive policy commitments to halt destructive energy and mining operations and to establish safeguards for environmental and human rights defenders.

In the Visayas, the business community is pressing the administration to bolster micro, small, and medium enterprises, which account for 99.6 percent of all businesses in the Philippines.

Rey E. Calooy, chairman emeritus of the Filipino-Cebuano Business Club Inc., called on the national government to prioritize lower financing, electricity, and logistics costs, along with streamlined regulatory processes and expanded digital access.

“We urge the government to prioritize easier access to affordable financing, lower electricity and logistics costs, simplified business regulations, expanded digitalization, stronger support for local manufacturing and agriculture, and greater market access for MSMEs,” Calooy said.

He also cited corruption as a primary obstacle to national economic growth, warning that it inflates business costs and diverts resources from critical infrastructure, health care and agriculture.

Calooy urged the President to intensify anti-corruption measures and enforce strict fiscal transparency.

Meanwhile, progressive organizations in Panay are preparing to hold a parallel “People’s SoNA” on 27 July to highlight issues regarding governance, corruption and unmet policy goals.

Led by Kahublagan Kontra Korapsyon alongside Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Panay and the Jaro Archdiocesan Commission on the Laity, the mobilization is expected to draw approximately 1,000 participants.

Raoul Manuel, convenor for Kahublagan Kontra Korapsyon, said during a news conference that the alternative event aims to represent the immediate concerns of ordinary citizens.

The demonstration will begin at 8 a.m. at the University of the Philippines Visayas City Campus, followed by an 11 a.m. march along General Luna Street toward the Iloilo Provincial Capitol.