As the country enters 2026 amid political unrest and persistent corruption, public attention has largely focused on holding officials to account. Yet the focus on corruption risks obscuring deep, long-standing problems confronting the nation — slowing economic growth, weak job creation, rising prices, and worsening poverty for millions of Filipinos.

These challenges raise critical questions: faced with impeachment complaints, how will the Marcos Jr. administration confront the economy’s structural problems? Will 2026 bring real improvements in jobs, incomes, and living conditions, or more short-term fixes that fail to address the roots of the crisis?

These issues will be taken up at the 2026 IBON Birdtalk Yearstarter, the institution’s opening forum for the year. The event will be held on January 23, 2026, from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM, at the University of the Philippines Diliman School of Statistics Auditorium. Media practitioners, government agencies, diplomatic offices, educators and students, and religious, civil society and people’s organizations are attending.

Birdtalk is presented by IBON and co-presented by the UP Office of the Faculty Regent, UP School of Statistics Student Council, UP Office of the Student Regent, and All UP Academic Employees Union, in collaboration with official media partner Altermidya Network. Numerous media partners and institutions co-livestream the event.