Screengrab from Bongbong Marcos YT

Recently, we raised a simple but urgent question: The public has spoken. Will the President listen?

Through his first podcast after the 2025 midterm elections, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. offered his initial response, not in the defensive tone many expected, but in one that was surprisingly candid, calm, and reflective.

He acknowledged the people’s fatigue with politics. He recognized the growing impatience with government.

He also extended an olive branch to Vice President Sara Duterte, setting a tone of reconciliation rather than escalation.

For that, he deserves credit.

But this is no time for applause. It is time for action.

Yes, the President has shown he is listening, but now, he must show that he can lead.

Because beyond the tone of unity and understanding, the fundamental problems that led to voter backlash remain unresolved.

The clock is ticking, and the public is watching closely to see whether those words will be matched by decisions, bold, tangible, and meaningful.

Let’s be specific.

The crisis surrounding the San Juanico Bridge is exactly the kind of moment that calls for decisive presidential leadership.

This is not just infrastructure, it is symbolism.

The San Juanico Bridge connects Samar and Leyte, forming a lifeline for Eastern Visayas. It is the region where the President's mother, former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos, hails from.

It is also the home turf of House Speaker Martin Romualdez, his cousin and closest political ally.

We were informed by old townsfolk from that region that it was his own father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who built the bridge and famously offered it as a birthday gift to Imelda.

A grand gesture that turned into one of the most iconic symbols of connectivity in the archipelago.

Yet today, the bridge is in disrepair. Its partial closure has disrupted the daily lives of countless Filipinos.

The ripple effects are massive affecting millions of residents not just in Eastern Visayas, but across supply chains and mobility routes reaching into Mindanao.

We’ve received countless messages during our radio program, Executive Session on radio station DZRH, from small business owners in the region, restaurant operators, sari sari store owners, and even transport cooperative heads, sounding the alarm.

They say many have had to close shops or suspend operations due to the unavailability of supplies from Manila or Mindanao.

The movement of goods has slowed to a crawl, strangling local economies and threatening jobs.

What was once a symbol of national integration now risks becoming a choke point of economic paralysis.

This is precisely the kind of problem that demands the President’s personal, hands on intervention.

A visit to the bridge on site, in person, would send a powerful signal that the President is not just listening, but ready to act.

Standing on the bridge, assessing the damage himself, and giving clear instructions to the Department of Public Works and Highways, Coast Guard, Philippine Ports Authority, Department of Transportation and local government units.

PBBM setting deadlines and monitoring their accomplishments to expedite repairs and relieve the people’s suffering would demonstrate leadership in its most essential form.

This is the kind of visible, urgent presidential action Filipinos want to see more of not just words in podcasts or speeches, but feet on the ground, sleeves rolled up, and decisions made.

Whether it’s a broken bridge, a splintered coalition, or a fractured narrative, the job of a President is not just to react but to act.

Boldly, swiftly, and sincerely. The public isn’t asking for miracles. They’re asking for presence. For accountability.

That someone in Malacañang understands what it means when a bridge breaks not just the concrete, but the livelihoods it supports.

The same urgency and decisiveness must extend to other pressing challenges.

You have the right message, Mr. President. Your podcast showed that.

However, it must be backed by a team that can turn sincerity into daily governance, not sarcasm from a so-called communicator who thinks condescension is communication, nor silence from a top official missing when clarity is most needed.

We say this not to criticize, but because we want you to succeed, for your success is the country’s success too.

In fact, in our humble view, the President is still well positioned to regain the public’s trust, if he moves with speed, clarity, and political will.

Start where it matters, on the ground. As with the San Juanico Bridge, let the public see more of that: a leader who listens, and then moves.

This is not empty public relations spin. It’s what leadership looks like when it’s rooted in empathy, urgency, and visibility.

Because unity, without reform, is just another slogan.

Empathy, without delivery, is just good optics.

This is not a hostile critique. This is a plea from citizens who still believe you can turn things around.

You still have time, Mr. President. But time, as you know, is a political currency that devalues quickly when not spent wisely.

Yes, the President has spoken.

Now the nation waits to see if he will act.

Let that be the beginning of a true turnaround.

Ed Javier

Ed Javier is a veteran communicator with over 34 years of professional experience both in the private and public sectors. He is also an entrepreneur, political analyst, newspaper columnist, broadcast and on-line journalist.