SONA REACTION:
July 29, 2025
"As in his first and second State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Bongbong Marcos made no mention of the issues affecting Indigenous Peoples and the deteriorating state of human rights in his third SONA.
As in the past, President Marcos Jr. is promoting more foreign investments which only sells-out our ancestral lands and resources to foreign investors, such as for mining and renewable energy projects. This only means a continued disregard of our Free, Prior and Informed Consent and other rights as Indigenous Peoples. It will mean more plunder and disasters, exacerbating the deadly consequences of the climate crisis that we are already suffering from.
President Marcos Jr. boasted of an improved human rights situation in the country. But ground realities negate this claim. Civilians, legitimate peoples’ organizations and activists continue to fall victims of numerous human rights violations and state terror as experienced in the Cordillera.
No amount of rhetoric and lip service can conceal the undeniable fact that Bongbong Marcos’ administration is marked by fascist rule, development aggression and systemic corruption."
For Reference:
Sarah Dekdeken
CPA