Philippine president vows to defend territory, announces amnesty for rebels in key speech

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. 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% economic growth rate, which he said was the country’s highest in 46 years despite weak prospects worldwide.

“We are still considered to be among the fastest-growing economies in the Asian region and in the world,” he said.

Critics, however, hit Marcos for not mentioning human rights issues, including his refusal to cooperate with the International Criminal Court in its investigation of large numbers of killings under his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte’s brutal campaign against illegal drugs.

More than 6,000 mostly poor suspects died in Duterte’s police-enforced crackdown based on police pronouncements, but human rights groups say the real death