Cardinal David:The senseless death of Gelo is a parable of our time. His story cries out to heaven—and to all of us. It shouts the question: how many more Gelo’s must die before we confront the systemic injustices that not only destroy livelihoods but also take the very lives of our fellow citizens?

Three years into Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration, two questions hang in the air: How is the Philippine economy faring and how are Filipinos surviving? At the recent IBON BirdTalk Midyear 2025, IBON executive director Sonny Africa said there are more poor and hungry Filipinos despite the accomplishments Marcos enumerated in his 2024 State of the Nation Address

President Marcos, in his fourth SONA, acknowledged the disappointment over his administration’s performance and vowed to go after corrupt public works officials and contractors over substandard and incomplete flood control projects that caused severe flooding in the past week.