A loss for Marcos Jr, a victory for the Filipino people! Filipino community celebrates Pres. Marcos losing the UN Security Council Seat
BAYAN USA welcomes the recent vote denying the Marcos Jr. administration a seat at the United Nations Security Council. This was undoubtedly a result of the tireless work of the people's movement in exposing the fascist crimes of Marcos, and the danger posed by another yes-man of US imperialism joining the body.
The Philippines deserves international recognition and a seat of the people, but Marcos is the worst representative of our People's interests. In all his time in office Marcos Jr has proven that he would have only used the UNSC seat to further plunge the Philippines into war and debt. Marcos Jr. and his administration have spent years campaigning for this UNSC seat - despite his horrible track record in human rights violations, mass murder, displacement of peasant communities and further subservience to foreign countries which has escalated the economic crisis and driving more and more communities into poverty.
Marcos Jr's Subservience to US Imperialism Puts our People at Risk
Marcos Jr has not taken a political stand to protect Filipino migrant workers in the US, Middle East and everywhere else. He has refused to concretely address the oil crisis in the Philippines and has willingly given away land for the use of US military, AI technology and large scale mining though the "Pax Silica" partnership. His subservience to the US places our people in danger and worsens landlessness, state violence and further drives forced migration.
Filipino migrant workers send back billions in pesos, making up over 7% of the Philippines GDP. Yet when they are faced with labor trafficking, exploitation, and hardship abroad, the Philippine government is no where to be found. The Philippines government neglects its nationals and sets them up for failure abroad, while refusing to address the root issues of migration in the Philippines itself.
For those who seek true change in the Philippines like national industrialization and land reform, they are met with repression and bullets. Last month, the Philippine military killed 19 people in Negros in a massacre - murdering student leaders, farmers and 2 Filipino Americans, Lyle Prijoles and Kai Sorem.
The merciless killings of the Negros 19 and the hundreds displaced from the militarism supplied by the US, shows that the Marcos administration willfully sacrifices its own people in order to clear the land for more foreign extraction and to quell any form of dissent. Marcos refuses to acknowledge that the 79th IB of the Philippine Army murdered civilians and continue to threaten the lives of the local population with their presence.
Kai Sorem's sibling, PJ, shares why they condemn Marcos' campaign for an UNSC seat, "I vehemently oppose President Marcos on the UN Security Council seat. Marcos facilitated and congratulated the murder of my sister--a US national and civilian--as well as the indiscriminate strafing and massacre of the rest of the Negros 19. These killings were violations of international humanitarian law. To elect Marcos to the UN security council is a disgrace on my sister's name."
The Philippine state postures itself as a role model in unity, peace, and development even in the aftermath of the UNSC votes but we see the Marcos regime for what it truly is a threat to the Filipino people and people across the globe! Marcos Jr. continues the counter-insurgency program that was formed by the violent Duterte regime - applying a whole of nation approach and weaponizing the civilian bureaucracy to attack and demonize progressive people’s organizations. State programs like the NAP-UPD have particularities in their design that specifically target organizations abroad - impacting our ability to expose the truth of the situation in the Philippines.
The Mass Movement is the Decisive Factor Against a Reactionary Violent Regime.
While the world had expected a seat for the Philippines on the UNSC, the people's movement proved to be the decisive factor in exposing the conditions and the basis to vote against the Marcos Jr. camp. All throughout the year, BAYAN member organizations waged vigorous campaigns uplifting the voices of migrant workers and those affected by Trump's immigration policies, those impacted by the killings of the Negros 19 and all who are generally striving for a genuinely free Philippines. Throughout the beginning of May, BAYAN members confronted Philippine govt officials DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac and DMW Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Cooperation Levinson Alcantara -- sent by Marcos to participate in the IMRF and "represent" Filipinos.
Through these militant actions concerted outreach and partnership with supportive allies, BAYAN exposed the bureaucrats who are facilitating the systematic export of the Filipino people. The tireless efforts of the people resulted in a successful campaign against the Marcos Jr. regime. This UNSC loss shows that the international community is rejecting countries in alignment with US imperialism and it is clear that Marcos Jr. is a spineless puppet of Trump. This victory is a direct challenge to the powers of the corrupt and elite officials that sell out the Philippines. From here, we must continue building the overseas mass movement of Filipinos and international solidarity for the national liberation and genuine democracy of our people.
Isang tagumpay ng mamamayan!