Hold human rights violators accountable! Uphold Philippine Sovereignty!
Malaya Movement responds to VP Harris visit to the Philippines
Rightfully so, Filipinos launched protests in response to Vice President Kamala Harris' visit to the Philippines to meet with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte.
This visit confirms once again that the U.S. government’s stance on human rights are mere platitudes, captured in Harris’ insulting statement to human rights defenders that they “are not alone,” as human rights defenders and activists daily face the threat of a brutal death perpetrated by U.S. taxpayer-funded Philippine state forces.
This visit is an endorsement and further legitimization of a government that is categorically guilty of various crimes, including imprisoning and killing dissenters. Harris’ visit joins a growing list of examples of the Biden administration’s willingness to cozy up to fascist regimes for its geopolitical and economic interests.
Vice President Harris’ own words show where their true priority lies. Vice President Harris’s declaration that “America’s prosperity relies on the billions of dollars that flow through [Philippine] waters” takes priority over upholding human rights, democracy and the lives terrorized and taken by Marcos-Duterte regime, and their dynasties’ crimes.
The sealing of the alliance between the US and the Marcos-Duterte administration yielded an agreement to build additional U.S. military “facilities” in the Philippines, in exchange for more of U.S. taxpayer money going to fund the Marcos-Duterte state forces responsible for horrific crimes against ordinary Filipinos. Unbelievably, Vice President Harris claims that the purpose of this increase in US military presence in the Philippines is to aid the Filipino people in protecting their national sovereignty.
Malaya Movement USA takes the standpoint of the Filipino people and places Philippine sovereignty above the interests of warring superpowers. With that, we oppose and criticize the proposition to build additional U.S. military facilities. We believe that this is counter to Philippine sovereignty and national interests.
We believe that instead of protecting national sovereignty against Chinese incursions, these military bases will only serve as magnets for attack in the cases of further escalation between the U.S. and China. Instead, we believe that Asia Pacific must be demilitarized. Both superpowers, U.S. and China, must de-escalate. Smaller countries like the Philippines have nothing to gain in the event of an escalation.
While we recognize the limitations of appealing to the U.S. government, the Malaya Movement USA will continue to demand for concrete action from the U.S. Congress and the Biden-Harris administration put their words into action, and take concrete steps to hold human rights violators accountable. Ultimately, we call on the Filipino people to join the Malaya Movement to advance the movement for democracy, human rights and sovereignty.
