Category: Documents

22 July 2022

In the recently concluded elections in the Philippines, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., the namesake of the former Philippine dictator, won the presidential race with over 31 million votes, ending the decades-long campaign of their family to bring another Marcos in Malacañang and rewrite history from their perspective.

As we enter the administration of President Marcos Jr., the country is confronted with a myriad of political, environmental, and economic problems which require the immediate attention of the government. The soaring fuel prices, devaluation of the Philippine peso, and continuous degradation of the environment among others are just but a few issues that pose an alarming difficulty to many Filipinos across the country.

For PMPI, the environmental or ecological crisis brought about by climate change and the continuing biodiversity loss should be a paramount concern for this administration. Data published by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), for instance, revealed that environmental challenges have created disproportionate impacts on marginalized communities, particularly women and the poor. Moreover, it was highlighted by USAID that compared to other countries, the Philippines ranked as one of the most vulnerable nations to the consequences of environmental disasters, hence leading to a high number of fatalities every year.1

We call on President Marcos to be true to his promises. In the middle of the electoral campaign, he declared in a press release that the environment will be his priority. He even said that “nature has its rights that should be protected. It should be allowed to flourish, reproduce and attain its abundance side by side with human civilization in perfect balance and harmony with our growing communities.”2

Given that the Rights of Nature (RoN) is one of the primary advocacies of our network, we are hoping that the President will take concrete steps to institutionalize the RoN concept in various levels of governance. Foremost is to enshrine in our legal system the recognition of nature’s rights. We believe that by giving legal rights to the environment similar to that of human beings and corporations, we are a step closer to securing the highest degree of protection under which an ecosystem can flourish, thrive, and naturally evolve.3

In our efforts to protect our planet earth, our common home, we urge the Marcos administration to address the following issues:

Certify as urgent the Rights of Nature (RoN) Bill filed by Sen. Risa Hontiveros;

Reverse the lifting of the moratorium on large-scale mining which Former President Rodrigo Duterte spearheaded;

Uphold the Hague ruling on the Sovereign Rights of the Philippines over the West Philippine Sea

Strengthen the implementation of the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) process for all development projects in IP communities;

Establish mechanisms to ensure stricter implementation of laws against environmental crimes;

Implement programs that advocate for renewable sources of energy and fuels; and

Address the issue of importation of agricultural products that continues to be detrimental to local farmers.

We are deeply convinced that despite differences in political ideology, the President will fulfill his duties to the nation and prioritize every Filipino’s welfare.

On a similar note, the network remains hopeful that President Marcos will be open to discussion with civil society organizations (CSOs), specifically groups involved in environmental protection work. In this regard, we hope that the forthcoming State of the Nation Address will not only focus on restoring their family name but serve as a platform for the President to convey a detailed plan on how he will concretize the promises that he made during the campaign.

REFERENCES:

https://www.usaid.gov/philippines/energy-and-environment

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1172214

Introduction

State terrorism and use of all its resources, Marcos stolen wealth and influence, decades of well-oiled and systematic disinformation and misinformation, and electoral fraud guaranteed sham victory to the Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.-Sara Duterte tandem. In particular, these include red-tagging, harassment, extrajudicial killings; failure to seriously  implement various Court decisions on the Marcoses; wholesale vote-buying, faulty and pre-programmed Vote Counting Machines (VCMs), voter disenfranchisement; and unchecked historical distortion re the Marcos dictatorship and their rehabilitation.

The impressive, volunteer-driven people’s campaign led by de facto opposition leader Vice-President Leni Robredo stood beaten by the traditional guns, goons and gold employed by the Marcoses using stolen wealth and the support of other oligarchs. The latter has been led by main enabler Pres. Rodrigo Duterte, who gains from this unity of thieves and liars with his daughter Sara as incoming Vice-President.This, despite broad support gained by the Leni campaign including youth, basic sectors, academe, Church, progressive organizations, former government officials, a section of retired military officers, business and others.

Meantime,  imperialist masters US and China are quick to congratulate  Marcos Jr. to further their own economic and geopolitical interests in the region. Despite glaring US 9th District Court in Hawaii’s conviction of the Marcoses re stolen wealth and even contempt order, the US has turned a blind eye with empty references to long-standing strategic  (read: neo-colonial) relations to foil the continued influence of China. China, more direct in expressing joy in the Marcos victory, is expected to pursue its soft debt diplomacy and encroachment into the West Philippine Sea, among others.

Fraud

The Commission on Elections (Comelec), as main government agency in charge of the polls, is composed of Duterte appointees whose independence is highly doubted. Cheating has been more ‘efficient’ under the Automated Election System (AES) based on reports of various independent poll watchdogs such as Kontra Daya, Vote Report PH and International Observers Mission. Kontra Daya deems the 2022 elections as among the ‘dirtiest’ and ‘most shameless when it comes to cheating.’ The group citied the 1,800 malfunctioning VCMs which affected at least 1.4 million voters; 152 reports of illegal campaigning; 109 reports of vote-buying and 55 reports of red tagging on election day.

The AES law provides for an ‘unbroken chains and processes’ to safeguard results but these were not followed. According to poll watchdog AES Watch (1),  among these is non-issuance of digital signatures (passcodes) to three election inspectors per precinct whereas three passcodes must be keyed in to boot each of the 106,000 VCMs and transmit election returns (ERs). Comelec issued these only in very few areas as majority only had passcodes issued to chairpersons. The Supreme Court (SC) was petitioned to direct the Comelec but no such order was done.

Using pandemic restrictions as excuse, Comelec likewise disallowed the monitoring of ballot printing and SD (secure digital) card formatting and only did so until after 70 percent of ballots already were printed. Comelec also did not release six findings (2) as regards documented results 90 days before election day as required by law. There was no source code review of central, backup and transparency servers by a reputable international body 90 days before election day. These gaps prevented a thorough check of the ERs versus the transparency servers. The 1.6% difference in tally between Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting and Comelec  represents 1,696 precinct VCMs or 1,356,800 votes.(3)

Very limited Random manual audit (RMA) in one per district was done through an untransparent Automated Selection Program, with no review of the source code at all. The entire elections logistics have also been awarded to Duterte funder Dennis Uy’s  F2 logistics. All these and more show that Marcos and Duterte cheated their way to power.

Reject

But beyond electoral fraud, the rejection of the Marcos-Duterte rule harks back to deep historical injustices on the Filipino people. The Marcoses have sought to return to power when Imelda Marcos ran but lost for president in 1992, a mere six years after they were ousted by the Filipino people in 1986, with the US giving them an escape pass to Hawaii. The Marcoses have never been made to seriously account for their crimes despite the 2003 final Supreme Court ruling on stolen wealth and numerous other court decisions, as well as laws, demonstrating the atrocities of martial law.

The elites have played a key role in the restoration of the Marcoses to power because of their own gains from this ghastly arrangement. Outgoing Pres. Duterte enjoyed the Marcoses’ support during his presidential campaign and gave a Heroes’ Burial to the late dictator. This 2022, former Pres. Gloria Arroyo – herself winning through electoral fraud in 2004 as exposed in the Hello Garci tapes — is believed to have brokered the tandem of what should otherwise be strategic political rivals Marcos and Duterte. 

By Hannah Brockhaus
Catholic News Agency
July 1, 2022

VATICAN— Pope Francis has asked the Catholic Church to pray in a special way for the elderly during the month of July.

The prayer intention follows requests to pray for families in June and for young people in May, and coincides with the celebration of the World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly on July 24.

“We cannot speak about family without talking about the importance of the elderly among us,” Pope Francis said in a video message released June 30.

“We elderly people often have a special sensitivity for care, for reflection, and affection,” he noted. “We are, or we can become, teachers of tenderness.”

The video is part of a series created by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network in collaboration with the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life.

“We pray for the elderly, who represent the roots and memory of a people, that their experience and wisdom will help those who are younger to look to the future with hope and responsibility,” the pope said.

The video shows images of an elderly man and woman baking a cake together, which they then share with their grandchildren.

“In this world accustomed to war, we need a true revolution of tenderness,” he said. “We have a great responsibility towards new generations about this.”

Pope Francis said: “let us remember: grandparents and the elderly are the bread that nourishes our lives, the hidden wisdom of a people. That is why we must celebrate them, and I have established a day dedicated to them.”

“Let us pray for the elderly, that they may become teachers of tenderness so that their experience and wisdom may help young people to look towards the future with hope and responsibility,” he said.

In a June 30 press release from the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, Ciro Intino, director of the Alberto Sordi Foundation, commented on the pope’s July prayer intention.

“Our society is getting older and older, and yet it tends to exclude and isolate elderly people, putting their identity and social role in crisis, especially regarding their relations with younger generations,” he said.

“Unfortunately,” he added, “there is a lack of adequate responses to elderly people’s care requirements and existential needs. There is still a long road ahead in terms of social and sociomedical policies aimed at senior citizens, with the goal of limiting the condition of isolation which constrains too many elderly people today.”

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life, said, “the Holy Father invites us to become aware of the relevance of the elderly in the life of society and of our communities, and to do so not sporadically, but structurally, with a regular pastoral outreach.”

“That is to say, it’s not about rushing to deal with an emergency, but laying the foundations for long-term pastoral work that will require our involvement for decades to come. Beyond reaffirming the importance of fighting the throwaway culture, the Pope also seems to want to offer reference points for those who are experiencing the bewilderment of finding themselves getting along in years,” he said.