Representatives Arlene Brosas (Gabriela), France Castro (ACT Teachers), and Raoul Manuel during State of the Nation Address. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc have questioned President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s remarks on the celebration of the 125th Independence Day — that the Philippines will never again be subservient to external forces — as foreign nations linger near the West Philippine Sea (WPS).
In a statement on Monday, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas said it is ironic for Marcos to mention such when the the President supposedly is an avid supporter of “foreign-backed militarism” in the disputed region.
Brosas was referring to Marcos’ speech at the Quirino Grandstand for the Independence Day rites, where Marcos said that the country would “never again be subservient to any external force.”
“It is deeply ironic that while President Marcos Jr. hoists the Philippine flag today and proclaims that we will not be subservient to any foreign power, he remains to be an avid supporter of foreign-backed militarism in the West Philippine Sea and staunch promoter of pro-foreign neoliberal policies,” Brosas said.
“He has accepted increased military exercises with different foreign superpowers in the Philippine territory, foremost with the US through various iterations of military drills,” she claimed.
READ: Marcos on 125th Independence Day: Never again will PH be chained to foreign forces
The lawmaker also maintained that the current administration’s policy of being a friend to all and an enemy to none puts the Philippines in a dangerous position, as the United States (US) and China jostle for position in the region.
“Marcos Jr.’s ‘friend to all’ foreign policy dangerously places the country in the midst of Washington and Beijing’s increased jostling for global superiority. It is a foreign policy that is friendly to aggressions but is blind to the further erosion of our territorial integrity and sovereignty,” she said.
“Truly commemorating Philippine independence should mean junking one-side pacts with foreign powers, including the Mutual Defense Treaty, Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca), and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement,” she added.
Several other progressive groups also joined demonstrations, like Kabataan party-list which stormed the Chinese Embassy in protest of China’s intrusion over the WPS.
In a separate statement, Kabataan said that despite being free, the country has not escaped colonial influences.
“[…] we have not escaped the claws of imperialist exploitation and wars. This is more true now as imperial powers and their monopolies, like the US and China, are pushed by global economic crisis to mark their neocolonial territories, especially their dominance over our country as a strategic chess piece,” Kabataan said.
“The current US-Marcos Jr. regime’s recent move to establish new Edca sites and the newly approved bilateral defense guidelines with the U.S., has dangerously set our country to an unnecessary warpath just to gain foreign capital. Our future is being sold so that our country can be turned into a potential battleground for the next imperialist proxy war,” it added.
ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro echoed these sentiments, noting that the country is not truly free as both US and China’s influence lie around the country.
“Though we claim to be free, we are still being controlled by superpowers like the US and China. They manipulate our economy, dictate our foreign policies, and violate our sovereign rights. This is not true freedom,” Castro said.
Marcos have maintained in the past that the country will not be a staging post for any foreign power. The President said this after questions were posed as to whether the Philippines is shifting alliances, supposedly leaning towards the US as new Edca sites were named.
READ: PH won’t become military ‘staging post’ – Bongbong Marcos
READ: PH not ‘staging post’ for foreign powers – Marcos
Recently, Marcos dismissed assertions that the country has shifted alliances, saying that such views are certainly not true.
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