ICHRP Canada stands in solidarity with the Filipino people as they deliver the People’s State of the Nation Address (PSONA). On this occasion, the Filipino people will deliver a true account of the national situation to expose the lies and fabrications of a morally corrupt government under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
In 2023, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, indiscriminate bombings and fake surrenders abound. At the same time, the violently repressive Marcos Jr. regime continued its campaign of terror against dissenting citizens through red-tagging, militarization of communities, trumped up charges, arbitrary detentions, threats and intimidations. These violations compounded by the grave economic conditions reveal the true state of the nation under Ferdinand Marcos Jr; the IBON Foundation reports that low and stagnant wages, precarious work, and soaring food prices are exacerbating hunger and poverty.
ICHRP-Canada advocates for a just and lasting peace, but there can be no peace when the people are hungry and democracy is suppressed. Currently, the Philippines is in a state of civil war. The two belligerent parties are bound by international humanitarian law (IHL). The recent International Peoples Tribunal (IPT) that took place in Belgium in May 2024 found President Marcos Jr., former President Rodrigo Duterte, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, and the United States government guilty for war crimes and IHL violations against the Filipino people.
The defendants were found guilty of desecration of remains, killings of hors-de-combat fighters and prisoners of war, and the killings and indefinite imprisonment of peace consultants in violation of the IHL. By continuing to wage its counter-insurgency war, rather than address the root causes, the US-backed Philippine government is exacerbating the conflict and violating both individual and collective rights of the Filipino people, including the right to self-determination.
As peace loving Canadians, we must recognize the role of our own government in this troubling situation. Canada recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding on defense cooperation with the GRP. It is also negotiating a Visiting Forces Agreement with the Marcos government. At the same time, under the guise of regional stability and security, Canada is enhancing the resources and capacity of the Marcos Jr. government and the Philippine military, making it complicit in the abuses committed in their repressive counter-insurgency campaigns. The increased militarization resulting from these agreements will further draw the Philippines into the conflict with China and endanger the Filipino people.
ICHRP-Canada calls on our fellow citizens to critically examine our Government’s foreign policies and their impact on nations like the Philippines. We must advocate for foreign policies that prioritize human rights, justice and self-determination over geo-strategic and economic interests, including reassessing our military and economic engagements in the Indo-Pacific region. In light of President Marcos Jr.’s invitation to visit Canada this Fall, we must ask why our Government is working with top human rights abusers and enabling the whitewashing of his bloody human rights record.
ICHRP-Canada calls on all peace-loving people to support the Filipino people’s struggle for genuine democracy and liberation from oppression and exploitation. Join us in our call to continue the peace process in the Philippines. Reject Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, say no to Enhanced Defence Cooperation, and no to the Visiting Forces Agreement! True liberation for the Philippines can only be achieved when the people are free from both domestic tyranny and foreign domination!