On the occasion of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. addressing the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City on September 20, 2022, we, the Filipino community in the United States, assert that Marcos Jr.'s invitation to speak should be revoked.
The US is home to over four million in the global Filipino diaspora, many of whom are Martial Law survivors or were forced to leave their families in the Philippines to secure better employment abroad due to the country’s bleak economic conditions, the government’s unabated political corruption, and the continued labor-export policy first administered under Marcos, Sr. As a community united for justice and accountability, we demand the following:
- For the UN to revoke Marcos’ invitation to speak at its General Assembly;
- For the UN to urge the Marcos administration to investigate and hold accountable the Duterte administration for violations of International Humanitarian Law, including indiscriminate drone strikes and aerial bombing;
- For the UN to urge the Marcos administration to rejoin the ICC and fully comply with its investigation of war crimes under the Duterte administration;
- For the UN to urge the Marcos administration to immediately free Leila De Lima and all political prisoners;
- For the Biden administration and US State Department to uphold the $353 million contempt order against the Marcos family issued by the District Court of Hawai’i; and
- For the UN and Biden administration to condemn the human rights violations and plunder of public funds committed by the Marcos, Sr. administration, as well as the historical revisionism and attacks on human rights being committed currently under the Marcos, Jr. administration.
We call on all Filipinos to join us in these demands, and in calling for justice and accountability as we commemorate the Martial Law anniversary throughout the month.
