Human rights legacy for Marcos Jr.

Two and a half years into his six years term, President Marcos is still grappling with an unruly economy that has so far failed to deliver the promise of a better life which he made to the Filipino electorate in May 2022. There are also no landmark projects or hallmark advocacies in the horizon that could serve as defining legacies of his years in office.

The Marcos administration has been pre-occupied with the usual projects that have been minded by every president in the past, such as the building of public infrastructure, lowering of inflation, increase in job opportunities, expansion of businesses, and the like. But apart from these bread-and-butter projects of every president, Mr. Marcos should think deeply on what will distinguish his administration from our nation’s past leaders. What will make his term stand out compared to previous presidents, including his father’s?

There are two past presidencies that are naturally associated with the Marcos Jr. presidency. These are the Ferdinand Marcos Sr. presidency and the Rodrigo Duterte presidency. These two past presidencies somehow “sandwich” the Marcos Jr. administration in the middle. The reasons are obvious. Mr. Marcos is naturally measured up in relation to his father’s reign. And Mr. Marcos is inevitably compared to his predecessor because he drew strength or support from the Duterte name, to win the presidency.

The years of both the Marcos Sr. dictatorship and the Duterte regime are defined by a similar negative legacy of horrific human rights abuses. How will Mr. Marcos craft his legacy in contrast to the negative legacies of the two past presidencies? Will Mr. Marcos continue to sweep under the rug the negative legacy of his father? Will Mr. Marcos utilize the ongoing investigation on the Duterte administration’s horrific human rights record only as a means to neutralize the Duterte family as an election threat in the coming elections? Will Mr. Marcos withhold prosecution against Duterte for the thousands of despicable crimes committed against Filipino citizens?

Mr. Marcos is in a very unique position to clean up the stain of his father’s misrule, in a way that can remove or, at the very least, reduce a large part of the blemish that inescapably stains the names of his children and grandchildren. With outstanding initiatives that stand on for generations, Mr. Marcos should strengthen all the human rights institutions and mechanisms that will prevent future tyrants from ever abusing the powers of the presidency again. If he can withdraw his family’s opposition to the still ongoing attempts of the Philippine government to recover the Marcos wealth, and give additional funds to compensate the victims of human rights abuses during his father’s rule—so much the better, because the gesture will forever make him a permanent counter-point to any accusation that the Marcos name is solely defined by his father’s misrule. If he does any of these, it will immensely help in stopping the stigma from affecting future generations of the Marcos lineage.

The Marcos Jr. administration should not stop at merely exposing the atrocious crimes associated with the Duterte name for the utilitarian purpose of neutering its electoral potency. Mr. Marcos can further cement his legacy as a human rights guardian, if he allows full government cooperation with the ongoing International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation and eventual trial. Mr. Marcos should make the Philippines rejoin the ICC, not only to temper our local leaders’ propensity for beastly behavior, but also as a legal weapon against foreign aggressors like China who may commit horrible crimes against our people. In addition to crimes against humanity, the ICC has jurisdiction to try war crimes, genocide, and the crime of aggression.

While China is not an ICC member, the ICC will have jurisdiction to issue warrants of arrest and try Chinese leaders if they commit crimes inside an ICC member’s territory. This should be compelling reason for us to rejoin the ICC. There would be questions, of course, that ICC jurisdiction does not extend to crimes committed by China in the West Philippine Sea because the WPS does not form part of our national territory, but is merely part our exclusive economic zone, as previously ruled by the ICC prosecutor. However, with so many other flashpoints that may get us enmeshed in wars—Taiwan issue, military alliance with the United States etc.—there is no guarantee that any foreign aggressor like China will not commit international crimes inside Philippine territory, or aboard our vessels, anytime in the future.

The Marcos Jr. administration has a choice of legacy. It can hide within, tiptoe around, or totally ignore the dark shadows of the Marcos Sr. and Duterte regimes. Or it can position itself as a lighthouse, towering above past administrations, with its lights obliterating the dark shadows of our country’s past and future paths.

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