Abstract

This study analyzed the annual obligatory and traditional speeches, referred to as State of the Nation Address (SONA), of the 13 past Philippine presidents. The study determined the sentiments, as well as the emergent topics, expressed in these materials. It is found that these SONAs generally expressed positive sentiments while the lowest negative sentiment, on the other hand, was during the martial law period in 1974. Also, it is shown that “development” is the most frequently appeared word among these speeches. The study also revealed that the sentiments of the incoming presidents were lower than that of the outgoing. Moreover, it is shown that these SONAs mainly focused on the following concerns of the country: (a) economic development; (b) enhancement of public services; and (c) addressing challenges. The results of the study translate into the importance of SONA as a venue to discuss and to engage with its people the nation’s state and direction.

Details

Title
Exploring Philippine Presidents’ speeches: A sentiment analysis and topic modeling approach
Author
Miranda, John Paul P 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Bringula, Rex P 2 

1  Mexico Campus, Don Honorio Ventura State University, Pampanga, Philippines 
2  College of Computer Studies and Systems, University of the East, Manila, Philippines 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
Jan 2021
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Ltd.
e-ISSN
23311886
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2021.1932030
ProQuest document ID
2614518284
Copyright
© 2021 The Author(s). This open access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.