Fifty-four years after the declaration of Martial Law under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the Philippines remains locked in a harrowing cycle of state fascism, ecological devastation, and subservience to foreign powers. Today, under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Filipino people still struggle against the same tyrannical framework that plundered our natural resources and suppressed fundamental rights decades ago. The Center for Environmental Concerns – Philippines (CEC) firmly stands with the Filipino people in condemning the persistent human rights violations, environmental plunder, and the betrayal of national sovereignty perpetuated from one Marcos regime to the next.

The elder Marcos left behind a dirty, corrupt, and fascist legacy that fundamentally crippled our nation’s ecology and democracy. Under his dictatorship, the Philippines suffered the worst rate of deforestation in the Asia-Pacific region, losing an average of 316,000 hectares of forest cover per year [1]. His fascist regime saw 11,103 victims of human rights violations. Environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) who dared to resist state-sanctioned projects were systematically harassed, jailed, and murdered—most notably Kalinga tribal chieftain Macliing Dulag [2], who was assassinated by military forces on April 24, 1980, for leading opposition against the World Bank-funded Chico River Basin Hydroelectric Dam [3]. The regime’s prioritization of infrastructure expansion [4], funded by massive foreign debt, served cronies and elites while corrupt and environmentally destructive projects like the $2.3 billion Bataan Nuclear Power Plant [5] burdened generations of Filipinos without producing a single watt of electricity [6].

Far from breaking away from his father’s dark legacy, Marcos Jr. has ruled under the same corrupt and fascist blueprint. State forces continue to perpetuate human rights violations, maintaining the country’s grim record as the deadliest nation in Asia for land and environmental defenders [7]. Local communities opposing and barricading against large-scale mining exploration like those in Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya face numerous counts of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), red-tagging, surveillance, and harassment. People’s just resistance against the Pax Silica initiative was met with police brutality, especially during the Luzon Economic Corridor (LEC) protest action where 5 paralegals were unjustly arrested and filed with trumped-up charges [8]. Instead of upholding justice, state forces act to secure the interests of private corporations and plunderers.

Under the current regime, environmental plunder has worsened under the guise of “green transition” and economic progress. Extractive industries and large-scale mining operations continue to displace peasant and Indigenous communities, poison waterways, and destroy critical ecosystems. Adding to these ecological threats is the push for nuclear energy despite the insufficient safeguards, dangers of soil degradation from nuclear waste, and risks to communities affected, through plans to revive the Bataan Nuclear Powerplant, and projects like the proposed P225 billion Labrador Nuclear Power Plant [9]. Alongside this, rampant state corruption, exemplified by massive flood control infrastructure corruption that left communities vulnerable under severe flooding while public funds vanish into politicians’ pockets persists, as the government lacks accountability up to date. 

Marcos Jr., like his father, also showed ultimate subservience to foreign powers at the expense of national sovereignty. Through facilitating policy and entering initiatives in clear favor of foreign geopolitical interests like “Pax Silica” [10] and the Luzon Economic Corridor [11], the government is freely handing over our critical minerals, energy infrastructure, and strategic lands to foreign interests. While willing to displace thousands of Aetas in Tarlac and exacerbating environmental degradation without delivering true national development or resource security, the government prioritizes foreign interests despite the incomparable loss these projects will bring.

The Filipino people must refuse to endure another era under the legacy of Marcosian plunder and repression. 

CEC calls for full accountability for the historical and ongoing atrocities committed by the Marcos family against the Filipino people and our environment. As we commemorate Martial Law, we not only demand justice for the victims of human rights violations—we also stand against Pax Silica and destructive megaprojects, call a halt to foreign-dominated extractive operations, and demand immediate accountability for widespread corruption in the country. 

As an alternative, CEC advocates for the immediate enactment of pro-people bills like the People’s Mining Bill (PMB) to ensure our natural resources serve national industrialization and local needs rather than foreign interests. Above all, we demand a complete stop to state-sponsored attacks against EHRDs and the defense of democratic spaces.

We urge our fellow environmentalists and civil society to join hands in resisting the continuing fascism, environmental plunder, and foreign subservience of the current Marcos Jr. regime. Let us turn our collective outrage into action, such as by attending activities like the upcoming ML54 mobilization to express our unwavering dissent, build strong community barricades against plunder, and continuously defend our lands, rights, and sovereign future.

Never again to Martial Law!

Defend the people and the environment!

Reject Pax Silica!