MANILA, Philippines – The country is now commemorating its 1898 independence from over 300 years of colonial rule under Spain.
After 119 years of freedom from its conqueror, in what other aspects or areas is the Philippines not yet free from? What are the major challenges and threats that the country faces? Here are answers from some of the country’s public officials and concerned groups:
1. POVERTY
“Based on the 2015 poverty incidence, there are an estimated 21.93 million Filipinos who can’t buy basic necessities such as food, housing, and clothing. Farmers and fishers remain the poorest sectors. We, Filipinos, want to be free from poverty and hunger.” – Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan
“It has been 119 years since we gained our formal independence but 20 million Filipinos are still trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty and hunger. Free market economics prevented the growth of the local economy, kept agriculture backward, and normalized labor schemes such as labor contractualization.” – National Anti-Poverty Commission Secretary Liza Maza
“Kailangan ng ating mamamayan na makita ang kongkretong programa at proyekto ng pamahalaan para matugunan ang kawalan ng trabaho, mababang pasahod, at kawalan ng tiyak na kabuhayan.” – Sen. Leila de Lima
2. OLIGARCHS, BIG BUSINESSES, FOREIGN MONOPOLIES
“They are bleeding Filipinos dry for profit…In the 50s and 60s, hailed as the golden era of the Philippine industry, nationalist politicians like Claro M. Recto created economic policies that developed our own capability to build local industries. We were able to produce world class products such as the jeepney. We were second only to Japan in terms of economic development, but our economic policies began to cater to the demands of the free market, drowning self-reliance in an export-oriented, import-dependent framework that has stagnated our economy and left decades of Filipino workers vulnerable to exploitations.”
“Hindi man tayo pisikal na sakop ng mga dayuhan, nananatili tayong nakatali sa mga polisiyang pumapabor sa kanila.” National Anti-Poverty Commission Secretary Liza Maza
“From Aguinaldo to Duterte, the government remains to be bound by the United States’ continuing dominion over the country. They are puppets, implementing policies for the benefit of their foreign masters and not for the people they have sworn to serve.” – JP Rosos, League of Filipino Students national spokesperson
3. LACK OF EDUCATION
“Milyon-milyong batang Pilipino ang walang kapasidad na pumasok sa isang pormal na paaralan; kulang ang silid-paaralan at aklat; kulang ang guro at mababa ang sahod. Nais nating mga Pilipino na maging malaya mula sa kawalan ng edukasyon na siyang susi sa tagumpay.” – Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan
4. TERRORISM
“Patuloy na bumabalot ang kaguluhan sa Marawi City dahil sa banta ng terorismo, aerial bombings, at martial law. Nais nating mga Pilipino na maging malaya mula sa takot at pangamba.” – Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan
5. THREATS TO SOVEREIGNTY
“China rises to power and challenges our sovereignty, cornering us in false accusations and ungrounded claims over our lands. They bully us using direct force in building establishments within our territory, and force us with sabotaging economic plans.” – JP Rosos, League of Filipino Students national spokesperson
“Once again, President Duterte failed on his promise to get rid of US hands in the affairs of the country. As we speak, the US forces are directly involved on the ground in Marawi which is an outright violation of our sovereignty and our Constitution.” – Peti Enriquez, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Southern Tagalog spokesperson
“The presence of US Special Forces in the current Marawi siege is again trampling on Philippine sovereignty and independence. As elsewhere since the post-9-11 “War on Terror”, it uses the convenient excuse to go after “terrorists” including those linked with the ISIS, which the US has covertly supported together with its NATO and Arab allies.” – International League of Peoples’ Struggle-Philippines
6. HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES, THREATS OF AUTHORITARIAN RULE
“We are guided by our country’s Bill of Rights. Amid threats of authoritarianism, we join the public in safeguarding civil liberties, including the right to religious belief and security against warrantless arrests and imprisonment.”
“The Duterte government’s bloody war on drugs resulted in numerous cases of human rights abuses and thousands of unsolved extrajudicial killings. Our condemnation to these abuses extends to our critical stance towards President Rodrigo Duterte’s Martial law in Mindanao and plans to extend it to the Visayas and Luzon.” – Gathering for Civil Liberties
7. FAKE NEWS
“In an era of fake news, rabid online persecution and weak political institutions, we need to fight for our democracy now more than ever.” – Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV
“Sa pagyabong ng social media, lumaganap din ang fake news na nagbabanta sa katotohanan at nagdudulot ng kalituhan. Nais nating mga Pilipino na maging malaya mula sa fake news at kasinungalingan.” – Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan