HomeNewsNGO network gives Marcos failing mark on his 100th day in office

NGO network gives Marcos failing mark on his 100th day in office

The group urged Marcos to uphold “human rights-based, people-centered, and ecologically sustainable economic development”

A network of non-government groups on Tuesday, October 4, gave Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. a failing grade ahead of his 100th day in office.

The Council for People’s Development and Governance (CPDG) said the first 100 days of the Marcos presidency is marked by “continuing impunity and bad governance.”

The CPDG is a network of 60 non-government organizations and people’s organizations that work for “development effectiveness” and “democratic governance.”



The group said the Marcos administration “is early on showing its colossal corruption and the continuation of their families’ tyrannical streak.”

The statement was made a few days after Marcos visited Singapore to watch the F1 Grand Prix, which drew criticism and was described as “utterly callous” while the country is recovering from a super typhoon.

“In these first critical months of his term, he has shown that he does not intend to revisit the failed economic plans of the past,” said the group.

“There is no long-term plan to develop the agriculture sector for food security, starting with genuine land reform, and for national industrialization,” it added.

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The group lambasted the lack of “real action” on any of Marcos’ promises when he assumed the presidency including the lowering of the price of rice to PhP20 per kilogram, modernization of the fishing industry, support for teachers, and promises of an anti-corruption campaign and accountability for human rights violations.

“There is a token acknowledgment of some economic difficulties, but no effort to address structural problems,” the group said.

“On the ground, the economy and millions of the Filipino poor reel from accelerating inflation, falling real wages and earnings, growing joblessness and informal work, and unresolved landlessness,” the group added.

CPDG cited the continuous weakening of the Philippine Peso against the US Dollar and the skyrocketing “prices of goods and services.”

The group also decried the “prevailing impunity” and the “worsening human rights condition” in the country after Marcos refused to rejoin the International Criminal Court, which is investigating the previous administration for the death of thousands of Filipinos under the war on drugs campaign.

Liza Maza, CPDG spokesperson, said the move “sent a strong signal that impunity would continue under Marcos Jr.’s watch.”

CPDG listed demands that the Marcos administration should prioritize.

  • Address the rising prices of basic commodities including providing relief with immediate emergency cash assistance
  • Revive local agriculture and ensure food security and self-sufficiency
  • Undertake genuine agrarian reform and agricultural modernization
  • Build national industries for pro-people economic development
  • Provide free health care and basic social services for the people
  • Protection, rehabilitation, and sustainable use of the environment
  • Uphold national sovereignty and an independent foreign policy
  • Stop spending on wasteful and unproductive infrastructure, pork barrel, militarist, and other expenses
  • Respect, protect and fulfill civil, political, and economic human rights
  • Combat disinformation, protect freedom of expression and press freedom
  • Institute democratic, ethical and accountable governance

The group urged Marcos to uphold “human rights-based, people-centered, and ecologically sustainable economic development,” adding that it is vital for the new administration to perform its duties with “transparency” and “accountability.”

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