Why was Bongbong Marcos, the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, feted and honored in Honolulu on his way to the APEC conference in San Francisco? His election as president of the Philippines was riddled with massive fraud and voting discrepancies. His administration has continued to commit human rights abuses and killings like those that occurred under the murderous prior regime of Rodrigo Duterte.

For more than six decades, the U.S. government has provided substantial monetary assistance to the police and military forces of the Philippines despite the abuses and slayings. Just in the past eight years, the U.S. has supplied more than $1.14 billion in weapons and military equipment to the Philippine police and military.

With these monies, the Philippine government has murdered and jailed thousands of Filipino unionists, human rights activists, farmers and students.

I am sickened and angered by the long record of abuses and their intensification today under Marcos’ son Bongbong. He should not be welcomed here and our representatives in Congress should cut off the aid to the Philippine military and police by passing the Philippines Human Rights Act now.

John Witeck

Kamehameha Heights

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