Performing Power: A Speech Act Analysis of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s Public Interviews

Political discourse plays a crucial role in shaping public perception, influencing attitudes, and communicating leadership intentions through language. Using a qualitative research design, particularly discourse analysis, the study aimed to examine the speech acts in President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s public interviews from 2022 to 2025 using Speech Act Theory and Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions. Specifically, it sought to identify frequently used locutionary expressions, the illocutionary acts performed, and their perlocutionary effects on the public. Thirty (30) interview transcripts were systematically analyzed using AntConc Software and Orange Software. AntConc was utilized to identify recurrent locutionary patterns, including modal verbs, cognitive markers, and lexical expressions, while Orange Software was used to assist in organizing and categorizing emotional response data based on Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions for perlocutionary analysis. Results revealed recurrent locutionary patterns such as modal expressions (“have to,” “will/will be,” and “need to”) and epistemic markers (“I think,” “I know,” “I said,” “I want to,” “let us/let me stress,” “I ask,” “I feel,” and “I believe that”). These expressions realize assertive, commissive, directive, and expressive illocutionary acts, which function to present information, express commitments, suggest actions, and convey stance. Perlocutionary analysis revealed a multilayered emotional response spectrum, including anger, anticipation, disgust, fear, joy, sadness, surprise, and trust, reflecting diverse audience interpretations. Overall, the study recommends that media practitioners, political advisers, and analysts prioritize clarity and precision in public statements to minimize ambiguity and improve audience understanding in political discourse.