Before the President delivers his State of the Nation Address, the Filipino people have already delivered theirs. If these survey results accurately reflect public sentiment, they reveal something striking—the issues dominating people’s minds are not political drama but everyday survival.

At the top is corruption (29.8%), followed by the rising cost of goods (18.7%). Jobs and livelihoods (6.6%), poverty (6.2%), illegal drugs (5.5%), low wages (5.1%), fuel prices (4.9%), agriculture (4.0%), criminality (2.8%), education (2.0%), and even the fulfillment of past promises (1.6%) all ranked higher than Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment, which registered just 1.2%.

That should send a clear message to every politician in Manila. While political leaders have spent months consumed by investigations, hearings, privilege speeches, and impeachment, ordinary Filipinos have remained focused on concerns that directly affect their daily lives—putting food on the table, paying bills, finding stable jobs, earning decent wages, and protecting their families from crime and illegal drugs.

The contrast is hard to ignore.For many in government, politics has become the main event. For many Filipinos, politics is merely background noise to the much bigger struggle of making ends meet.The numbers also suggest that people are looking for accountability in a broader sense.

Fighting corruption ranked first because Filipinos understand that corruption drains resources that could have gone to schools, hospitals, flood control, agriculture, infrastructure, and social services. Every peso lost to corruption is a peso taken away from the public.

Equally telling is the low ranking of the Vice President’s impeachment. Regardless of one’s political position, the survey suggests that it is not among the public’s most urgent concerns. People appear far more interested in solutions to inflation, employment, and public services than in another chapter of political confrontation.

A State of the Nation Address is often remembered for its promises. But perhaps this year, it will be judged more by whether it speaks to what people actually care about.The Filipino people have already set the agenda.The question now is whether the government is listening.