Group claims Marcos differentiates himself from past regime

RENEWABLE SOURCES President Marcos, in a speech during the opening of Lake Mainit Hydro Power Plant on Wednesday, says government is prioritizing the use of renewables in increasing the country’s energy supply. With the President are Agusan del Norte Gov. Maria Angelica Rosedell Amante (right) and Agusan del Norte second district Rep. Dale Corvera. —ERWIN MASCARIÑAS

MANILA, Philippines — A group has accused the administration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. of trying its best to rebrand itself as something different from the past regime.

But even then, it only ends up using similar policies and programs.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) on Friday said it appears the administration has been obsessed with rebranding — but without actually changing policies that the past leader, former president Rodrigo Duterte, employed.

“From Day 1, the Marcos regime attempted to show it was different from its predecessor, only to end up doing many of the same policies and programs of the past regime,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes said in a statement.

“Rebranding cannot work if the object remains fundamentally the same,” Reyes noted.

“It is a superficial, futile exercise, and a waste of public funds. One cannot simply rehash the dictator’s ‘Bagong Lipunan’ into a ‘Bagong Pilipinas,’ while retaining the crisis-ridden economic and political system,” he observed.

According to Bayan, the upcoming State of the Nation Address (Sona) should be a way to discuss the true state of the country, including problems and concerns of various industries and sectors.

Instead, the group is expecting that Marcos’ second Sona will depict a situation wherein the country is supposedly doing well, despite a lot of people finding it hard to live decently.

“It should not be an occasion to window-dress statistics and pretend we are doing well when we are obviously not. Image-building and the obsession with rebranding and resurrecting the programs of the first Marcos regime should not be the focus of Sona,” Reyes explained.

INQUIRER.net has sought the side of the Presidential Communications Office regarding the issue, but the agency has not yet responded as of posting time.

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