U.S. groups protest Biden invitation to Marcos Jr.

President Biden’s invitation to President Ferdinand “Bong Bong” Marcos, Jr. to an official visit has raised serious concerns among U.S. leaders from religious groups, labor organizations, state legislatures and the Filipino American community.

In a statement issued recently (see below), the signatories urged President Biden to retract the invitation to Marcos unless human rights issues are addressed, and until Marcos has complied with court orders, both in the Philippines and in the U.S., to fully compensate the victims of martial law.

“Make no mistake.  This visit will be a critical test of President Biden’s respect for the rule of law.  There should be no official invitation unless Marcos repudiates Duterte’s murderous administration and stops the assaults on the Philippines’ constitutional democracy,” said John Cavanagh, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies.

Loida Nicolas Lewis, National Chair of the U.S. Filipinos for Good Governance, points out that Marcos, who campaigned for “unity” must be “held accountable for this promise by repudiating his predecessor’s undemocratic policies and his war on drugs that have torn families apart and destroyed thousands of lives.”

Lewis denounced Marcos’s decision not to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is investigating former President Duterte’s war on drugs.  During ex-President Duterte’s six years in office, at least 6,252 people were killed and an estimated 30,000 more were victims of vigilante-style killings — deadly consequences of Duterte’s war on drugs.

“President Biden must raise to President Marcos Jr. the importance of upholding human rights, tempting as it may be to set such concern aside because of President Biden’s need to cement an alliance with President Marcos Jr., given  U.S. geopolitical interests against China,” said Edwin Batongbacal, member of Akbayan National Council. “President Biden must respect the Filipino people’s paramount interest as a sovereign nation.”

The continued incarceration of former Sen. Leila De Lima is notably concerning for Irene Natividad, co-chair of the Asian American Action Fund and President of the Global Summit of Women. “Marcos must underscore his commitment to transparency and good governance by immediately releasing De Lima, who has been unjustly treated for criticizing Duterte’s war on drugs,” she said. “The new administration must also stop harassing Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Ressa, a staunch advocate of freedom of the press.”

On Duterte’s policy of “red-tagging peaceful labor workers and activists,” labor leaders in the US are reiterating previous demands “to  honor the human rights of all Filipinos and to observe the will of Filipino workers who have come together to demand dignity and respect. In the US we are barely recovering from the recent attack on our freedoms by the previous administration,” noted Brady Calma, President, Asian Pacific America Labor Alliance (APALA). “Democracy and the rule of law are more fragile than we thought, and we must be vigilant in upholding them.”

 Marcos is scheduled to speak before the UN General Assembly on September 20, while Vice President Duterte was slated to attend a special UN meeting on education the week of September 9.

For more information, contact Jon Melegrito, 202.361.0296 or email [email protected].

Statement Calling on President Marcos and President Biden to Uphold the Filipino People’s Human and Democratic Rights

Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr.’s and Vice President Sara Duterte’s expected visits to the United States this month are as good a time as any to remind the American public that these topmost Filipino officials represent a historical trajectory that continues to imperil the Filipino people’s human and democratic rights.

President Marcos is scheduled to speak before the UN General Assembly on September 20. President Joe Biden has also invited him to an official visit. Meanwhile, Vice President Duterte will be attending a special UN meeting on education the week of September 9. These visits are meant to imbue added legitimacy to their incumbency.

The U.S. public needs to be aware that the Marcos-Duterte administration, founded on a successful electoral alliance between two dynastic families, embodies a long-running effort to whitewash the crimes of the Marcos dictatorship, on the one hand, and to perpetuate previous President Rodrigo Duterte’s legacy of extrajudicial killings and disdain for constitutional limits, on the other.

As documented by Amnesty International and other human rights groups, the Marcos dictatorship was responsible for 3,257 known extrajudicial killings, 35,000 documented tortures, and 70,000 incarcerations. During Duterte’s six years in office, at least 6,252 people were killed and an estimated 30,000 more were victims of vigilante-style killings — deadly consequences of Duterte’s war on drugs that Bongbong Marcos himself has not repudiated.

Moreover, Bongbong Marcos – who was convicted of tax evasion in the mid-1990s – owes US$3.9 billion on his father’s estate. He is presently under a longstanding contempt order worth $353 million by a US court for violating an injunction that prohibited the Marcos family from touching their US assets because these were the source of potential payment of damages to the human rights victims of martial law.

Marcos and Human Rights

In his first State of the Nation address in July, Marcos made no mention of country’s human rights situation, notably the bloody war on drugs (which is under investigation by the International Criminal Court), the continued incarceration of former Sen. Leila de Lima, the red-tagging of peaceful labor workers and activists,  the inhumane treatment of political opponents, and suppression of freedom of the press

In light of this alarming human rights situation, we demand that President Marcos:

• Repudiate Duterte’s murderous, extrajudicial “war on drugs,” rejoin the ICC and cooperate with its investigation. Marcos has already said he does not intend to rejoin the ICC.
• Release former Senator Leila de Lima immediately.
• Stop Duterte’s policy of red-tagging peaceful labor workers and activists, which is aided by the passage of Duterte’s recent Anti-Terror Law. Marcos must cooperate with the International Labor Organization (ILO), which is investigating extrajudicial killings of labor rights advocates and anti-union campaigns by the military.
• Stop punitive measures against the Media, like the harassment of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Maria Ressa of Rappler and the shutting down of ABS CBN, and allow freedom of the press to flourish.
• Fight corruption at all levels of government.

On the issue of Philippine sovereignty, the Filipino people fully expect him to uphold Philippine sovereignty against Chinese territorial aggression, and stand up against Chinese disregard of international law.

On US-Philippine Relations

We note with concern President Biden’s invitation to President Marcos to visit Washington. We call on President Biden to use the power of his office:

• To send a strong message that America’s continued support is conditioned on Marcos reversing Duterte’s policy of relentlessly abusing human rights and escalating assaults on the Philippines’ constitutional democracy.
• To compel Marcos to release former Senator De Lima.
• To respect the Filipino people’s paramount interest as a sovereign nation, notably with regards to U.S. geopolitical interests against China.
• To retract the invitation to Marcos unless the human rights issues raised in this statement are resolved, and until he has complied with court orders, both in the Philippines and in the U.S., to fully compensate the victims of martial law.

We, the undersigned, call on the American people to support our demands on President Marcos to ensure that due process, the rule of law, and constitutional guarantees of democratic and human rights are respected and upheld.

Signatories as of Sept. 13, 2022:

Loida Nicolas Lewis, National Chairperson, US Filipinos for Good Governance (USFGG)

Edwin Batongbacal, member of the Akbayan National Council.

Brady Calma, President, Asian Pacific America Labor Alliance (APALA).

Irene Natividad, co-chair of the Asian American Action Fund and President of the Global Summit of Women.

John Cavanagh, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies.

Dr. Robin Broad, Guggenheim Fellow and Professor, American University

Rene CiriaCruz, Filipino American journalist, San Francisco, CA

Cindy Domingo, Akbayan North America, and A Legacy of Equality Leadership and Organizing (LELO), Seattle, WA

David Valderrama, former Maryland State Legislator

Eric Lachica, DC Coordinator, US Pinoys for Good Governance

Gus Mercado, Board Member, US Filipinos for Good Governance

Aquilino Javier, Jr., former President, National Association of Filipino American United Methodists (NAFAUM), Chicago, IL

Kris Valderrama, Delegate, Maryland Assembly

Mariano Santos Jr., FilAm Publisher, Chicago, IL