๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐จ๐ฌ-๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ซ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ค๐๐ง ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐๐ฌ
- Jul 27
- 5 min read
As the Marcos-Duterte administration was poised to deliver its fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) earlier today, peopleโs organizations, human rights groups, and environmental activists marched in the streets to demand full accountability for the governmentโs broken promises, massive corruption, and the aggressive push for pro-foreign and pro-corporate policies.
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The groups asserted that despite the split of the former UniTeam, both President Bongbong Marcos, Jr. and Vice-President Sara Duterte must be held accountable for their administrationโs plunderโnot only of the nationโs coffers, but also of the environment and peopleโs resources. They stressed that corruption is not only limited to flood control projects, but pervades all levels of government, sinking Filipinos deeper into poverty.
In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (IDEFEND) further said that this second-to-the-last SONA is a critical moment to examine the administration's human rights ย record, policies, and performance and to expose the countryโs crisis in governance.
โWe hold the administration accountable for the continuing threats to human rightsโthe drug war killings and the attacks against human rights defendersโ and its continued pursuit of development policies that is subservient to foreign interests, favoring ย elite and political dynasties, and plunging the country further into debt, leaving millions of Filipinos in poverty,โ said Joseph Purugganan of ย IDEFEND.
According to the green group, Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), ย the worsening crises are caused not only by systemic corruption, but also by skewed priorities that privilege corporate interests amidst human rights violations and environmental destruction.
โWe disagree with the governmentโs prioritization of mining as an economic driverโ, said ย ATMโs Jaybee Garganera. โThe expansion of nickel mines is directly threatening the lives and livelihoods of affected communities.ย This plunder of our natural resources is compounded by corruption where political dynasties own and control mining companies.ย This is why there are continuous violations of environmental rules and non-compliance of mining companies with their contractual obligations.โ ย
Norima Mablon, Katutubong Palaw an from Brookeโs Point, Palawan said, โHiling ko na sana ay mag-issue ng kautusan ang pangulo na tigilan na ang pagbibigay ng tree-cutting permit sa Palawan para matigil na rin ang pagsira sa kalikasan. Huwag na rin sana niyang dagdagan pa ang mga aprubadong mining permits at pagbubukas nito sa mga lupaing ninuno. Sana ay pagtuunan ng pamahalaan niya ang pang-agrikulturang hanapbuhay kaysa sa mga minahang sumisira sa ating kalikasan, at sa aming mga hanapbuhay.ย Wala namang umuunlad dahil sa mina, ang direktang epekto lang nito sa amin ay mga kalamidad.โ
("I would like to ask the president to issue an order to stop the issuance of tree-cutting permits in Palawan to stop the destruction of the environment. Also, he should not increase the approved mining permits and allow them to encroach on ancestral lands. I hope his government will focus on agricultural livelihoods rather than the mines that are destroying our nature, and our livelihood. There is no progress because of the mines; the only direct impact it has on us is disasters.")
Womenโs group LILAK (Purple Action for Indigenous Womenโs Rights) pointed out that the administration's pro-corporate priorities are heavily felt in indigenous communities through the aggressive push of the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to revise the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) Guidelines.
Judy Pasimio of LILAK said that the proposed revisions will further erode the genuine participation of indigenous peoples on projects affecting their ancestral domains and livelihood, while exacerbating the invisibility and marginalization of indigenous women who bear the greatest burden from these policies.
โThe revisions have further pushed the Indigenous Peoples into the margins, while favoring a more accelerated process for the corporations who are encroaching upon their ancestral domains, Thus, we reject these proposed guidelines,โ judy a. pasimio said.
On the other hand, Pablo Rosales of PANGISDA, highlighted the sordid realities faced by fisherfolk due to the governmentโs pro-corporate bias. โKahit ano pa ang sabihin ni BBM sa kanyang SONA, hindi nito mapagtatakpan ang totoong kalagayan ng mangingisda dulot ng malawakang pagkasira ng pangisdaanโtuloy-tuloy na reklamasyon, pagpasok ng mga komersyal na palakaya sa municipal water, mataas na presyo ng langis at mga pangunahing bilihin. Namamatay ang mangingisda sa matinding kahirapan at kagutuman habang busog na busog ang mga malalaking kapitalistang lokal at dayuhang korporasyon sa pagsamsam sa ating likas na yamanโ, he said.
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(โNo matter what BBM says in his SONA, he cannot cover up the real situation of the fisherfolk brought about by widespread destruction of the fisheries -- continuous reclamation, the entry of commercial fishing into municipal waters, high prices of oil and basic commodities. The fisherfolk are dying from extreme poverty and starvation while big local capitalists and foreign corporations profit by seizing our natural resources.โ
Meanwhile, Jhun Pascua of Pambansang Katipunan ng Makabayang Magbubukid (PKMM) stated, โ Saksi kami sa pangako ni BBM na ang โpangarap namin ay pangarap din niyaโ, ngunit sa huli, bigo pa rin ang mga programang pinatutupad ng kaniyang mga ahensiya, tulad ng DAR na sa ngayon ay nagiging daan pa upang mawalan ng karapatan sa lupa ang mga benipisaryo nito.โ
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โHindi na kami umaasang may magbabago sa kanyang programa, dahil inabandona na ng gobyerno ang obligasyon/mandato nito sa agrikultura na sana'y nagbibigay ng katiyakan sa pagkain ng mamamayang Pilipino sa gitna ng kabi-kabilang krisis. Sa halip na malasakit, mga programang walang patutunguhan ang natanggap namin, tulad ng patuloy na pagkaladkad ng repormang agraryo na, sa halip na tapusin ang pamamahagi ng lupa ang ayon sa pangako niya, ngayon ay naging isa sa may pinakamasamang performance sa reporma sa lupa sa ilalim ni Sec. Conrado Estrella IIIโ, Pascua added.
(โWe witnessed BBMsโ ย promise that โour dream is also hisโ,, but in the end, the programs implemented by his agencies, such as the DAR - which are now a way for its beneficiaries to lose their land rights - have failed.
We don't expect anything to change in his program, because the government has abandoned its obligation/mandate on agriculture that would have provided food security for the Filipino people in the midst of various crises. Instead of being concerned, we have received programs that go nowhere, such as the continuous dragging of agrarian reform. Instead of completing the distribution of land as promised, it has now become one of the worst land reform performers under Sec. Conrado Estrella III.โ
Judy Miranda of Partido Manggagawa, emphasised that under BBM ย the Upper Middle-Income Country status of the Philippines was achieved. โBu,t nobody cheers behind this growth bubble, with workers wages staying below the poverty threshold, and Filipino households struggling against the highest electricity rates in ASEAN.โ
The groups said they would continue to put pressure on the government by demanding genuine accountability and pushing for policies that will uphold human rights, preserve the environment, protect environmental and human rights defenders, and respect the rights of indigenous peoples and marginalized sectors.
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The groups also urged the Filipino public to hold all the countryโs ย leaders accountable and to insist on a government that chooses people over corporations and foreign interests.
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