CARMMA: Marcos Jr. wreaks havoc on people’s lives and rights one year into his presidency

[KARAPATAN Public Information]

Press Statement
30 June 2023

CARMMA: Marcos Jr. wreaks havoc on people’s lives and rights one year into his presidency

International trips. Inflation. Abductions. Questionable appointments. The same Marcosian lies. These are just few of the stark markers of Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first year as president — and they serve as clear reminders that what we have is a callous who has no regard whatsoever for the plight and welfare of ordinary Filipinos. Instead, the Marcos Jr. has only proceeded to wreak havoc on people’s lives and rights as it continues the anti-poor and murderous policies and programs of the Duterte administration.

Just like clockwork, the Marcoses have immediately set into motion their insidious plans to deodorize their disgraced family the moment they set their foot once more inside Malacañang. One by one, they are taking steps to whitewash their crimes against the Filipino people by regurgitating the same lies to distort history. Just recently, the Sandiganbayan has junked another case about the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth for supposed “lack of evidence,” and with the dictator’s namesake at the seat of power, we can only expect the dismissal of more of these cases as the Marcoses refuse to pay and return what they have robbed from the nation’s coffers.

It is utterly ludicrous that this administration banners a hollow tourism slogan such as “Love the Philippines” when Marcos Jr. also seems to be using taxpayer’s money and his unpaid estate tax dues to fund his jet-setting lifestyle with his international trips and parties — all while Filipinos continue to suffer the brunt of skyrocketing prices brought by inflation, the government’s inaction, and miniscule salary increases. To add salt to the wound, Marcos Jr.’s has appointed the disbarred lawyer, rabidly anti-poor, and pathological liar Larry Gadon as his anti-poverty czar, among other questionable appointments. Like father, like son: cronies and loyalists are rewarded with government positions they are not qualified for.

But Marcos Jr. is also continuing his father’s legacy in more insidious ways. For one, he has kept the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict and its violent red-tagging campaign in place, effectively keeping the country in a state of de facto martial law; the president has also kept mum on Vice President Sara Duterte’s militarization of the Department of Education, which we could only interpret as tacit approval of her militarist and repressive agenda. Furthermore, The recent spate of abductions against activists and attacks on journalists are shadows of the horrors that marked the fascist dictatorship of Marcos Sr.

The Marcoses might have succeeded in returning to Malacañang by cheating their way to “victory” during last year’s elections — but the fight is not yet over. We at the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law vow to honor the legacy of all the heroes who fought the Marcos Sr. dictatorship by continue to stand guard with vigilance and resistance against the Marcoses, their cabal of cronies, loyalists, and sycophants, and their anti-people agenda. We say “never again” to the Marcoses, we will never forget their bloody crimes against the Filipinos, and we will exert all efforts and avenues to hold them accountable. ###

Reference: CARMMA Secretariat, 09189790580

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KARAPATAN is an alliance of human rights organizations and programs, human rights desks and committees of people’s organizations, and individual advocates committed to the defense and promotion of people’s rights and civil liberties.  It monitors and documents cases of human rights violations, assists and defends victims and conducts education, training and campaign.