President’s #Sona2023: No mention of human rights abuses, ICC again – Bayan

Bayan Secretary-General Renato Reyes. INQUIRER.net file photo / NOY MORCOSO

MANILA, Philippines — The Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) on Monday slammed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for his failure to mention the alleged human rights violations affecting the country, adding that it is a sign that such injustices will persist within his administration.

“President [Marcos Jr.] in his Sona said that a ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ has arrived (dumating na). However, as with his father’s Bagong Lipunan, sorely lacking or absent in his vision for a Bagong Pilipinas is the issue of human rights,” Bayan president Renato Reyes said in a statement.

Reyes pointed out that this is the second time he has failed to address such pressing issues, skipping over the alleged human rights violations, the extrajudicial killings committed during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs, the International Criminal Court probe, as well as the murder and abduction of activists.

“So in this Bagong Pilipinas, human rights violations will likely persist,” he explained.

Apart from the violations, Bayan also pointed out that Marcos also made no mention of national industrialization and sustainable job creation, let alone wage increase and transportation issues such as the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program.

He also mentioned how Marcos did not even dare tackle the problem of US military bases in the Philippines and China’s incursions in our exclusive economic zone and how we are caught between this inter-imperialist rivalry.

“Bagong Pilipinas, like the Bagong Lipunan of the Marcos dictatorship, harps on grand promises but falls short of actual benefits for the people. In that respect, it is not so new after all,” Reyes said.

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