๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ก ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ง๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐'๐ฆ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ง ๐ข๐ก ๐ง๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ
July 24, 2023
Just like his speech for last year's State of the Nation Address, Bongbong Marcos closes his second SONA speech with "I know that the state of the nation is sound."
How sound, really, is the state? From the passing of the presidency from Rodrigo Duterte to Marcos Jr., the country has been nothing but sound as impunity has continued.
The truth is, the PEOPLE ARE IN AGONY. As prices for basic commodities continue to shoot higher, the government is focused on railroading laws and policies such as the Maharlika Wealth Fund that legalizes the Marcoses' and Dutertes' plunder of peoples' funds. The state is bent on making the Philippines an investment pot for foreign entities, creating fake illusion that the country is booming and not minding the actual state of the people.
Instead of upholding human rights through passing rights laws such as the Human Rights Defenders BIll, Marcos Jr. instead commits to further strengthening and modernizing the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police - giving them more benefits and advantage that they can use to further to violate peoples' rights.
In the Cordillera alone, since the return of the Marcoses and Dutertes, we have recorded 4 incidents of aerial bombings on indigenous communities where around 14 bombs on each occasions have been reported. This has caused massive effects on the livelihood of residents in Apayao (2022), Kalinga (March 2023) and Abra (June 2023). Intensified militarization continues in indigenous communities, causing disruption of everyday living.
In August of 2022, the region has witnessed it's first case of abduction after long years which has caused uproar amongst human rights defenders, friends, colleagues and families around and outside the region which has caused the immediate surfacing Steve Tauli.
On April 28, Dexter Capuyan and Bazoo De Jesus, both former student leaders in the Cordillera, were abducted by state forces and they remain missing, almost three months after. The AFP and the PNP continue to deny having them under their custody despite accounts pointing to state forces as perpetrators.
A few weeks before today's SONA, 4 activists from the Cordillera Peoples Alliance - Windel Bolinget, Sarah Alikes, Jennifer Awingan, Steve Tauli - were designated as terrorists by the Anti-Terrorism Council under the Anti-Terror Law. This comes a few months after their names were removed from a trumped-up charge of rebellion filed against them and warrants of arrests quashed early this year. All 4 individuals have experienced relentless red-tagging, surveillance, threat, harassment, intimidation and numerous trumped-up charges from state forces because of their advocacy and work as indigenous activists and human rights defenders. This BASELESS, ARBITRARY terrorist designation against the 4 individuals is a last resort of the state to silence them and the CPA as an organization as even the courts have ruled that they are NOT rebels or terrorists.
The absence of updates on the human rights situation in the Philippines in Marcos Jr.'s speech shows how the state willingly turns a blind eye on the peoples' rights. Actually, we did not expect this to turn up in his speech as he tries to cover up his and the previous administration's grave record of human rights violations against the indigenous and the Filipino people.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐น๐ณ - ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐, ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ - ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ถ๐ณ๐น๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐ด๐ฎ๐น ๐ฑ๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ผ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐.#