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“State-sponsored terror under Marcos Jr. continues to weaponize laws and fully mobilize the state’s armed forces to silence staunch defenders of people’s rights and anti-corruption advocates, to intimidate citizens and activists in protests, and to terrorize communities."
“What we are witnessing is one of the most brutal genocides in modern history.”
Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas assailed Marcos’s claim of success of his administration’s P20/kilo rice program, saying that it is artificial, limited, and only resulted in farmers' difficulty.
Marcos Jr.'s clean energy agenda faces growing scrutiny, as soaring LNG costs, environmental damage, and community concerns expose stark contradictions in the Philippines’ energy transition.
Based on monitoring by the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has reached only 14 percent of its target beneficiaries for distribution of Certificate of Condonation with Release of Mortgage (COCROM), covering six percent of total registered farmers.
Inside Batasan, Marcos Jr. identified accomplishments in infrastructure, health care, and food subsidy. But activists said that the speech was marked more by omissions than solutions.
“There was no mention of the elephant in the room—the corruption and impunity,” said Renato Reyes Jr., president of BAYAN.
Promises and so-called achievements filled the one hour and eleven minutes speech of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in the fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28, Monday. What are the critical issues did he miss to address?
Three years into the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the human rights situation in the Philippines is still bad.
"If the ‘iron-clad’ alliance comes with selling out the [Philippine] economy in exchange for ‘military aid’, then that’s not really an ‘alliance’ and that’s not really ‘aid’. That’s neocolonialism.”
“Every election in the Philippines, Amnesty International offers a clear pathway for reform through legislation calling newly elected Senators and Congress representatives to put human rights at the center of policy making."
“From paramihan ng patay to paramihan ng aresto? There’s nothing to celebrate about the latter policy that does not solve the root causes of the illegal drugs problem, and even aggravates it by opening the gates to further rights violations against the people, especially the poor."
Human rights group Karapatan criticized the Philippine government's push for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, saying Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is misleading both national and international audiences with a record of extrajudicial killings and military repression.
According to the IDP-led group Reclaiming Marawi Movement, approximately 5,000 displaced families are subject to eviction before the end of this year due to the expiring contract between the government and private landowners for the establishment of these shelters.
“These executive orders and the NHRAP are desperate attempts by the Marcos regime to cover up its sordid human rights record. These are hypocritical actions while it continues to implement policies that infringe on Filipinos' basic rights and freedoms and wantonly violate IHL," said Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay.
“Is it any wonder that he is again getting away with plunder? Enrile's plunder acquittal is just one of several cases related to the Marcoses and his cronies that have been dismissed since the May 2022 elections."
The Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC), created under the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020, has been a major concern for activists and human rights organizations. The ATC, after all, has broad powers like designating individuals and organizations as terrorists without due process.
“The true state of the nation is one of debilitating economic crisis, rising fascism, surrender of sovereignty, lack of accountability and endless fighting among the ruling elite.”
The composition is the most fundamental defect of the Special Committee, agencies, which civil society organizations said, “not only failed to address the many human rights issues relating to the brutal ‘war on drugs’ and suppression of freedoms and dissent but are, in fact, part of the problem.”
“The IPT belie Marcos Jr.’s posturing that his administration is different, that it has new ways to address the issues facing the country. But until the government changes its programs, rights violations will continue no matter how many foreign trips Marcos Jr. will do."
For single-unit operators like Chel Mallonga, 45, the impact of the government’s Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) would be drastic. Once consolidation pushes through, single-unit operators will no longer be granted franchises.
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