Myanmar junta from ASEAN, Marcos urged

MANILA, Philippines — Opposition lawmakers have called on the Marcos administration to bar representatives of the Myanmar military junta from participating in the Philippines’ hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Manila, which begins on Monday.

Through House Resolution 1614, Akbayan party-list lawmakers Reps. Chel Diokno, Percival Cendaña and Dadah Kiram Ismula, Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima and Kaka Bag-ao of Dinagat Islands emphasized that Manila must lead the regional bloc in enforcing the Five-Point Consensus and in pushing for inclusive engagement that involves democratic representatives, civil society, ethnic organizations and women and youth leaders.

The Five-Point Consensus is a peace plan forged between ASEAN and Myanmar’s junta in April 2021 in response to the political and humanitarian crisis triggered by a military coup earlier in the year.

Ismula stressed that compromising on the diplomatic isolation of the junta would deal a severe blow to regional credibility and to the Philippines’ standing as ASEAN chair.

“As the chair of ASEAN, the Philippines carries a historic responsibility to uphold the democratic values and humanitarian principles that bind our region together,” Ismula said.

“It will be a moral failure of the Philippines if we allow our chairmanship to be used to legitimize a military junta that continues to brutalize its own people, slaughter civilians and trample upon basic human rights,” Ismula added.

She also highlighted that the crisis in Myanmar directly threatens Filipino citizens and regional security through sprawling cyber-enabled scam compounds, online trafficking networks and forced labor hubs linked to the junta.