In a key speech on Monday, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. stressed his administration’s determination to defend the country’s territory, without explicitly mentioning China, with which the Philippines has been involved in a series of increasing confrontations within the contentious region of the South China Sea.
On Territorial Integrity
In his state-of-the-nation speech to Congress, Marcos said that he would “protect [the Philippines’] sovereign rights and preserve [its] territorial integrity, in defence of a rules-based international order.” “With our national interest paramount, we will always pursue constant dialogue and diplomatic approaches to the resolution of any issue that may arise,” he stressed.
“It is also imperative that our nation remains intact and inviolable, our sovereignty preserved,” Marcos stated.
On Internal Violence
The president noted that for “almost half a century,” some Filipinos had “taken to arms to make their views known and felt.”
“We are now at a point in our history when their armed struggle has evolved…We have incorporated capacity-building and social protection into our reintegration programs to guarantee full decommissioning of former combatants,” he added.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced on Tuesday that he has accepted the resignation of eighteen (18) Third-Level Officers of the Philippine National Police (PNP) allegedly involved in illegal drugs activities, upon the recommendation of the National Police Commission Ad Hoc… pic.twitter.com/XJo2sgfLFA
— Radyo Pilipinas (@radyopilipinas1) July 25, 2023
He announced that while “community development and livelihood programs” had “been effective in addressing the root cause of conflict in the countryside,” his government is also issuing “a Proclamation granting amnesty to rebel returnees,” in order to “complete this reintegration process.”
On the Drug War
Referring to his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte’s notorious War on Drugs campaign, which resulted in the killing of more than six thousand people, Marcos Jr. said that while the country’s campaign against illegal drugs continues, “it has taken on a new face” and is “now geared towards community-based treatment, rehabilitation, education, and reintegration,” which will help “curb drug dependence amongst [the country’s] affected citizenry.”
“We will relentlessly continue our fight against drug syndicates, shutting down their illegal activities – we will shut down their activities and dismantle their network of operations,” Marcos Jr. avowed.
Marcos Jr., who is also publicly known as Bongbong, said that “Unscrupulous law enforcers and others involved in the highly nefarious drug trade have been exposed. I will be accepting their resignations.”
“In their stead, we will install individuals with unquestionable integrity, who will be effective and trustworthy in handling the task of eliminating this dreaded and corrosive social curse. We cannot tolerate corruption or incompetence in government,” he remarked.