Volume V, Number 09. May 15, 2023.

The second US trip of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ushered in a higher level of neocolonial relations and the rehabilitation of the Dictator’s family in the US.

Marcos Jr. took home pledges of “cooperation” and investments from his latest trip to the US. He bragged about the alms he received from the US ranging from arms, war equipment, intelligence sharing, capital, and investments. These are linked to closer relations of the neocolonial state and the armed forces of the Philippines with the US in the face of increasing threat of China in the Asia-Pacific.

The US overwhelmed the modernization of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) through the Security Sector Roadmap, which defines what weapons are stocked in the Philippines. The profits of American military companies are assured through the “prioritization” of purchasing made-in-USA military equipment.

Included in the guidelines is the strengthening of control and command of the US in the Pacific operation of the AFP through the cover of “interoperability,” increased US intervention in intelligence gathering in the Philippines in the name of “information sharing,” cyber defense and closer ties with other allies of the US in the region in the name of “multilateral cooperation.” Also listed in the said guidelines is “sustaining” the strengthening of the US and AFP fight against “terrorism,” the thin disguise for anti-people anti-insurgency campaign that result in widespread human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law.

More than three decades later after the Filipino people ousted Marcos Sr., President Biden warmly embraced the son of the dictator, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. A newspaper in the US described the meeting of Biden and Marcos last May 1 in the White House as a “milestone” of the family Marcos transition from being a “pariah” to a “guest of honor.”

Biden overflowed with praises for Marcos Jr. and his administration, which he called as “unequaled ally” of the US in Asia now, even though the New York Court slapped a contempt order against Marcos Jr. and his mother Imelda for refusing to pay reparation to victims of human rights violations during the dictatorship.

Biden’s priority now is to establish at least nine military bases in the country under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA). In exchange, the US will maintain Marcos Jr. in power, in the same way that the Reagan administration maintained his dictator father.

US supports fascist dictators if it benefits them. This is the expression of the undeclared US foreign policy that: “He maybe a son of a bitch, but he is our son of a bitch.” In addition to the support to Marcos Sr. before and Marcos Jr. now, the US supported the previous fascist Duterte government with military aid and political support. The US is notorious in supporting dictators in the 60s like Anastasio Somosa of Nicaragua, Syngman Rhee of South Korea, Fulgencio Batista of Cuba, and Chiang Kai Shek of Taiwan.