MARCOS JR. IN DC @CSIS
Marcos Jr. capped his visit to the U.S. with an appearance at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Marcos Jr. made grand pronouncements about the state of democracy, sovereignty, and human rights in the Philippines. We’re breaking down some of the major points to show Marcos Jr’s true intent.
"BASTION OF FREEDOM"
In May last year, a record 56 million Filipinos exercised their right to vote. True to our roots as the first Asian Republic, we showed the world once again that the Philippines remains a bastion of freedom in the Asia Pacific.
My father once said “what good is democracy if it is not for the poor?” He was absolutely right.
Marcos Jr.’s assertion that the Philippines is a bastion of freedom is ludicrous and citing the 2022 elections, where voter disenfranchisement, intimidation, was widespread is even more outrageous.
It is shameful but expected that Marcos Jr. would cite his father, under whom the very fabric of democracy was shattered during deadly Martial Law. Under Marcos Sr.’s rule 70,000 were imprisoned, 34,000 were tortured, and 3,240 were extrajudicially killed.
The Marcoses effectively institutionalized poverty through widespread corruption, amounting to $10 billion in ill gotten wealth, and anti-people economic policies.
Under the Marcoses, freedom has been a mere illusion for the majority and afforded only to the ruling elite who continue to steal and exploit the Filipino people.
EDCA & Disaster Response
The original concept behind this cooperation agreement (EDCA) that we have with the US, from which these new bases were derived, was really because of the effects of climate change and the increasing instances of disasters in the Philippines.
Marcos Jr. stating that EDCA was agreed upon primarily for disaster response is insulting to all those who’ve been subjected to the displacement, human rights abuses, economic and environmental impacts due to increased military presence.
The 4 new EDCA bases are strategically located where there is tension in the South China Sea. The Isabela and Cagayan bases are located in the north facing Taiwan, while the Palawan bases are near the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
Let us remember that the US military is one of the biggest climate polluters in the world, consuming more liquid fuels and emitting more CO2e than most countries. If the PH and US cared about climate change and disaster response, the most impacted areas of the Philippines would be prioritized, like the Eastern Visayas.
Marcos Jr. dares to feign ignorance as the U.S. and China both ramp up military war preparations in the Indo-Pacific region. In doing so, he is endangering every single Filipino by dangling the Philippines between the two superpowers.
war on drugs
Well, I think those derive most of the discussions that are critical of the human rights situation of the Philippines derive from the policy that we undertook to fight the drug war. And perhaps we and in my view, what had happened in the previous administration is that we focused very much on enforcement. And because of that, it could be said that there were abuses by certain elements in the government.
Marcos Jr. continued to skirt the issue of accountability for the human rights violations, failing to acknowledge the over 30,000 lives taken during the War on Drugs. Instead he used vague words like “enforcement” to talk about his predecessor's murderous approach, while offering veiled criticism of the ineffectiveness of the policy as a whole.
While Marcos Jr. promises to pursue a policy of rehab and reeducation, we've seen at least 95 reported drug-related killings since January. As he continues to blame this on the culture impunity laid down by dictator President Rodrigo Duterte, he must take responsibility for these lives lost during his term.
We support the efforts by the ICC to conduct independent investigations regarding the human rights violations - an effort that is being actively blocked by the Marcos Jr. regime and his cronies in Congress.
What can you do?
Donate to legal defense fund:
bit.ly/nomarcosvisit
Become a member of Malaya Movement USA:
bit.ly/joinmalaya
Support the Philippine Human Rights Act:
humanrightsph.org
