Philippines’ Marcos vows to defend territory, does not mention China, announces amnesty for rebels in key speech
- Marcos underscored his administration’s resolve to defend the country’s territory through diplomacy in a key speech but did not mention China
- Outside Congress where Marcos spoke, hundreds of protesters pressed the government to deal with higher wages, inflation and the environment
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr on Monday underscored his administration’s resolve to defend the country’s territory through diplomacy in a key speech but did not mention China, with which it has had an escalating series of conflicts in the disputed South China Sea.
Marcos also announced in his state-of-the-nation speech to Congress that he would offer an amnesty to armed insurgents and would crack down on smugglers and hoarders of agricultural products, whom he blamed for steep spikes in food prices.
Despite an array of problems and uncertainties sparked in part by the war in Ukraine, Marcos said the dedication and patriotism he had seen among Filipino workers in and out of government have kept him optimistic.
“With this in my heart, I know that the state of the nation is sound, and is improving,” Marcos said to applause from lawmakers and top government officials in the heavily secured House of Representatives.
Marcos outlined reforms pursued by his administration to boost the economy following the coronavirus pandemic. He cited last year’s 7.6 per cent economic growth rate, which he said was the country’s highest in 46 years despite weak prospects worldwide.