💪🇺🇸🇵🇭 Marcos, Back in da US’s Arms, Making Him Own Kine Name in Foreign Policy 🌎💼
Ferdinand Marcos Jr., also known as Bongbong, da new president of da Philippines, wen make some major moves in foreign policy during his first few months in office. Even though he used to warn about da U.S. making China their enemy, he now sits with President Biden in da White House, being praised as one of da top allies for Washington. 🏛️😮
Marcos, only in office for less than one year, has become one game changer for da Philippines wen it comes to foreign policy. He wen switch from walking one diplomatic tightrope to making one strong turn towards Washington, as da rivalry with China continues to heat up. 🔥🌏🇨🇳
Shortly aftah he wen become president in June, Marcos wen welcome visits from multiple high-ranking American officials. Defense officials from da U.S. wen start briefing Marcos about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and da possible parallels with China attacking Taiwan. 🇷🇺🇺🇦🇹🇼
Den in January, Marcos wen announce dat da United States would get access to four more military sites in da Philippines. Last month, da Philippines hosted da biggest joint military drills between da two countries. 💂🇵🇭🇺🇸
Da surprising part is how fast everything wen happen, according to Aries Arugay from da ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. He nevah would have thought he’d be saying dis last year, but it looks like Marcos is sending da right signals wen it comes to foreign policy. 🌐🚀💡
Marcos has da support of da Filipino people. Surveys show dat most Filipinos see China as one threat and want da Marcos administration to work more closely with da United States to resist Beijing’s territorial pressures and strengthen their security forces. Marcos’s approval rating is at 78 percent, according to one March survey conducted by Pulse Asia. 📊👍💪
Some analysts believe dat part of da reason for Marcos’s efforts to reach out to da U.S. is his personal desire to fix his family’s name, which was associated with greed and excess for many years. Da Marcos family is accused of stealing as much as $10 billion from da government before fleeing to Hawaii in 1986, when da “People Power” protests toppled Marcos’s faddah, da dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos. Da family wen return to da Philippines not long aftah da death of da elder Marcos in 1989. 💰🌴🛬
Since his election, da younger Marcos wen go on 10 international trips, which his administration claims have attracted investments. But some people in da opposition wen question da usefulness of these visits. ✈️🤔💼
Da main issue is dat da Marcos family hasn’t had access to da international stage for a long time, says Cleve Arguelles, CEO of WR Numero Research in da Philippines. For one president like Marcos, who wants to restore da reputation and glory of his family, dis could be influencing his choices in foreign policy. 🌟🌍🔄
Even though he’s gaining popularity, Marcos still remains one controversial figure. On Monday, a group of left-leaning political activists wen gather outside da U.S. Embassy in Manila to protest Marcos’s meeting with Biden. They worried dat da Philippines would lose more of their sovereignty in exchange for secondhand equipment and promises of military aid. 🇵🇭🚫
Last year, it wasn’t clear what kind of welcome Marcos would receive in da U.S., since he’s still facing an outstanding contempt of court order in Hawaii for not revealing where his family’s wealth is hidden. As a result, there’s one class-action lawsuit for human rights abuses under his faddah’s rule dat cannot be paid. 🏛️💰🤷
Aftah Marcos’s victory in da election, Kurt Campbell, da White House coordinator for da Indo-Pacific, said dat “historical considerations” could cause “challenges” for da Biden administration’s dealings with Marcos. 🇺🇸🤝🤔
Some people worry dat Marcos might follow in da autocratic footsteps of his faddah, who was still supported by past American presidents before he fell. To his critics, he is trying to rewrite history to clean up his family’s tarnished legacy; they accuse him of spreading false information to win da election; and human rights activists say he has done nothing to address da abuses committed by his faddah and his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. 🕵️🗳️👎
For these Filipinos, watching da meeting between Marcos and Biden was surreal. “There’s a lot of historical vertigo for folks who pay attention to Philippine politics, but also Filipinos themselves,” said Adrian De Leon, a Filipino writer and historian at the University of Southern California. “It was just less than 50 years ago that the father of the current president of this administration was being condemned publicly by a lot of prominent members of the U.S. government, Biden himself included. And here we have him courting the son.” 🌀🕰️🤯
In 1986, Biden, then a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, criticized President Ronald Reagan’s “waffling statements” on the elder Marcos, who had imposed a 14-year period of martial law resulting in the arrests and torture of thousands. 🇺🇸👮♂️😱
Representative Susan Wild, Democrat of Pennsylvania, has proposed legislation to suspend military aid to the Philippines until it improves its human rights record. She has repeatedly urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to raise the issue of human rights with Filipino officials and has been assured more than once that the Biden administration takes it very seriously. 🇺🇸👩⚖️📜
Marcos, 65, was introduced to politics early by his faddah. As a child, he met two of China’s transformative leaders, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, and Gen. Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator. Biden mentioned that the last time Marcos was in the White House was when he accompanied the elder Marcos in a meeting with former President Reagan. 🇨🇳🇪🇸👥
Before last year’s visit to New York in September, Marcos had not set foot in the United States for 15 years, saying he could not “take that risk” of potential jail time. But Robert Swift, the lawyer who launched the class action suit against the Marcoses, said that he is awaiting a verdict from a New York court on a possible redistribution of $40 million worth of funds belonging to the elder Marcos and that he was optimistic about getting another payout for the victims. 🗽⚖️💵
Swift said that “the United States government can do better by human rights victims,” but the story of the last 50 years is that the United States will support dictators so long as they are friendly dictators, and that they will let them do what they want in their home countries without the U.S. interfering.” 🌎🤝🕊️
In da end, we gotta see where da road gonna lead us. Whether Marcos can truly make his own name in foreign policy or if he just gonna walk in da same steps as his faddah, only time goin’ tell. But fo’ now, he’s back in da arms of da U.S., making big waves in da world of diplomacy, and we all watching to see what goin’ happen next. 🌏👀⏳
So, stay tuned, everybody. As da saying goes, “Da more things change, da more dey stay da same.” But maybe, just maybe, dis time goin’ be different. 🔄🔮🙏
And das it for dis piece. We go see you next time. Aloha and Mahalo! 🤙🌺🌈
NOW IN ENGLISH
💪🇺🇸🇵🇭 Marcos, Back in U.S.’s Embrace, Forging His Own Path in Foreign Policy 🌎💼
Ferdinand Marcos Jr., also known as Bongbong, the new president of the Philippines, has made some significant changes in foreign policy during his first few months in office. Although he previously warned about the U.S. turning China into an enemy, he now finds himself in the White House alongside President Biden, hailed as one of Washington’s top allies. 🏛️😮
With less than a year in office, Marcos has become a game-changer for the Philippines in terms of foreign policy. He has shifted from treading a diplomatic tightrope to taking a firm turn towards Washington as the rivalry with China continues to escalate. 🔥🌏🇨🇳
Shortly after his inauguration in June, Marcos welcomed visits from several high-ranking American officials. U.S. defense officials began briefing Marcos about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the possible parallels with a potential Chinese assault on Taiwan. 🇷🇺🇺🇦🇹🇼
Then in January, Marcos announced that the United States would gain access to four more military sites in the Philippines. Last month, the Philippines hosted the largest joint military drills between the two nations. 💂🇵🇭🇺🇸
What’s surprising is how rapidly everything transpired, according to Aries Arugay from the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. He never would have predicted this last year, but it seems Marcos is sending the right signals concerning foreign policy. 🌐🚀💡
Marcos has the backing of the Filipino people. Surveys indicate that most Filipinos view China as a threat and want the Marcos administration to work more closely with the United States to resist Beijing’s territorial pressures and bolster their security forces. Marcos’s approval rating stands at 78 percent, according to a March survey conducted by Pulse Asia. 📊👍💪
Some analysts believe that part of Marcos’s efforts to reach out to the U.S. is his personal aspiration to rehabilitate his family’s tarnished reputation, long associated with greed and excess. The Marcos family is accused of embezzling as much as $10 billion from the government before fleeing to Hawaii in 1986 when the “People Power” protests toppled Marcos’s father, dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos. The family returned to the Philippines soon after the elder Marcos’s death in 1989. 💰🌴🛬
Since his election, the younger Marcos has embarked on 10 international trips, which his administration claims have attracted investments. However, some members of the opposition have questioned the utility of these visits. ✈️🤔💼
The main issue is that the Marcos family has not had access to the international stage for a long time, says Cleve Arguelles, CEO of WR Numero Research in the Philippines. For a president like Marcos, who seeks to restore his family’s reputation and glory, this could be influencing his foreign policy decisions. 🌟🌍🔄
Despite his rising popularity, Marcos remains a controversial figure. On Monday, a group of left-leaning political activists gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Manila to protest Marcos’s meeting with Biden. They expressed concerns that the Philippines would forfeit more of their sovereignty in exchange for secondhand equipment and promises of military aid. 🇵🇭🚫
Last year, it was unclear what sort of reception Marcos would receive in the U.S., as he’s still facing an outstanding contempt of court order in Hawaii for not revealing the location of his family’s hidden wealth Last year, it was unclear what sort of reception Marcos would receive in the U.S., as he’s still facing an outstanding contempt of court order in Hawaii for not revealing the location of his family’s hidden wealth. Consequently, there’s an unresolved class-action lawsuit for human rights abuses during his father’s rule. 🏛️💰🤷
After Marcos’s election victory, Kurt Campbell, the White House coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, mentioned that “historical considerations” could pose “challenges” for the Biden administration’s interactions with Marcos. 🇺🇸🤝🤔
There are concerns that Marcos might follow in his father’s autocratic footsteps, who enjoyed the support of past American presidents before his downfall. Critics accuse him of attempting to rewrite history to cleanse his family’s tarnished legacy; they allege he disseminated false information to win the election; and human rights activists claim he has done nothing to address the abuses committed by his father and his predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte. 🕵️🗳️👎
For these Filipinos, witnessing the meeting between Marcos and Biden was surreal. “There’s a lot of historical vertigo for folks who pay attention to Philippine politics, but also Filipinos themselves,” said Adrian De Leon, a Filipino writer and historian at the University of Southern California. “It was just less than 50 years ago that the father of the current president of this administration was being condemned publicly by a lot of prominent members of the U.S. government, Biden himself included. And here we have him courting the son.” 🌀🕰️🤯
In 1986, Biden, then a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, criticized President Ronald Reagan’s “waffling statements” on the elder Marcos, who had imposed a 14-year period of martial law resulting in the arrests and torture of thousands. 🇺🇸👮♂️😱
Representative Susan Wild, Democrat of Pennsylvania, has proposed legislation to suspend military aid to the Philippines until it improves its human rights record. She has repeatedly urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken to raise the issue of human rights with Filipino officials and has been assured more than once that the Biden administration takes it very seriously. 🇺🇸👩⚖️📜
Marcos, 65, was introduced to politics early by his father. As a child, he met two of China’s transformative leaders, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, and Gen. Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator. Biden mentioned that the last time Marcos was in the White House was when he accompanied the elder Marcos in a meeting with former President Reagan. 🇨🇳🇪🇸👥
Before his visit to New York last year in September, Marcos had not been in the United States for 15 years, citing the risk of potential imprisonment. However, Robert Swift, the lawyer who launched the class-action suit against the Marcoses, mentioned that he is awaiting a verdict from a New York court on a possible redistribution of $40 million worth of funds belonging to the elder Marcos and that he was optimistic about getting another payout for the victims. 🗽⚖️💵
Swift stated that “the United States government can do better by human rights victims,” but the narrative of the past 50 years is that the United States will support dictators as long as they are friendly dictators, and that they will allow them to do as they please in their home countries without U.S. interference.” 🌎🤝
