The Marcos Jr. government in the Philippines has begun to clean up the pro-China faction in the country, and the first wave of crackdowns has targeted local princes and feudal officials who hold real power, especially those who are still insisting on cooperation with China.
After holding a tripartite summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. seems to have a stiffer "waist". In addition to saying that the Philippine government will continue to fight China to the end in the South China Sea, he has also begun to purge the country's pro-China politicians, especially the local princes who hold political power.
This is because many local provinces in the Philippines advocate maintaining friendly and cooperative relations with China, which is "contrary" to the Marcos Jr. administration's pro-US and anti-China stance. The local government of Cagayan Province in the northeastern province of Luzon in the Philippines and its top leaders became the first targets of the Marcos Jr. government. Cagayan Governor Manuel Mamba recently visited China, which is particularly prominent in the context of the deterioration of China-Philippines relations, so he has also become a "bird" in the eyes of the Marcos Jr. government.
(Location of Cagayan Province, Philippines)
Recently, two members of the Philippine House of Representatives from Cagayan Province, who are also anti-China activists selected by Marcos Jr., submitted a bill asking the relevant committee of the House of Representatives to investigate reports of a surge in Chinese students at universities in the region. They called the presence of large numbers of Chinese nationals in these and other parts of the Philippines and posed a "risk to the country's national security and economy."
However, the governor of Cagayan Province and the mayors of relevant cities immediately came out to refute the rumors, saying that Chinese citizens in Cagayan Province entered the country with visas issued by the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and were real students, and there was nothing threatening the national security of the Philippines, and it was even more beneficial to the Philippine economy because they had to spend money locally. Obviously, these parliamentarians are trying to create an anti-Chinese and anti-Chinese atmosphere in Cagayan Province.
(Participating in the perfect Japan-Philippines summit, Marcos Jr. has more confidence in opposing China)
As far as we know, Philippine universities use English teaching, completely using American teaching methods, academic qualifications are recognized by China and most countries, tuition fees are low, and the cost of living is not high, so in recent years, there are many Chinese study abroad agencies in China to promote studying in the Philippines, and there are indeed many Chinese students and parents who do not want to "roll" on the single-plank bridge of the domestic college entrance examination and choose to study in the Philippines.
We need to remind that today, when China-Philippines relations are deteriorating, these Chinese students really need to pay attention to the local people's feelings, and once the Marcos Jr. government unleashes anti-China sentiment in the Philippines, Chinese students and other Chinese citizens in the country may become victims of some mobs.
(Former Philippine President Arroyo at the Boao Forum for Asia)
It is also important to note that the Philippine Congress is already in the hands of the Marcos Jr. family. Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives, Martin Romualdez, is Marcos Jr.'s cousin, and after a series of parliamentary battles in 2023, Marcos Jr.'s Federalist Party and Romualdez's "Lacas" Party have achieved an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives.
Therefore, since last year, Romualdez and Marcos Jr. have been persecuting pro-China figures in Philippine politics. For example, Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, because she inherited the pro-China line of the elder Duterte, was regarded by the Marcos Jr. family as a thorn in the side.
Last year, Romualdez gathered a group of anti-China lawmakers to try to impeach Sarah, but although it did not proceed, he still deprived Sara of the funds that Sara could legally use as vice president on the grounds that the use of special funds in Sarah's hands was not transparent, and transferred the money to the Philippine Coast Guard and other maritime law enforcement agencies for exclusive use in confrontation with China. The message of this move is already very obvious, if Sara does not change the pro-China line, there is a real possibility of impeachment.
In addition, former Philippine President Arroyo used to be the vice speaker of the House of Representatives and advocated friendship with China, but after she went to China to attend the Boao Forum last year, the forces led by Romualdez removed her from the post of vice speaker and demoted her to an ordinary member of the parliament.
What's more, Romualdez and Marcos Jr. also co-opted a large number of congressmen in an attempt to amend the constitution, change the Philippine political system from the current "presidential republic" to a "parliamentary republic", and remove the limit that the president can only serve one term, so as to prepare for Marcos Jr.'s participation in the next general election and his seizure of power. It was because of this incident that former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte spoke out last year in favor of the independence of his hometown of Mindanao. But as the Marcos Jr. government exerted more pressure, Duterte Sr. gradually "covered his flag" and turned it out.
(Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte)
In fact, there are quite a few pro-China forces in the Philippines. Not long ago, a Singaporean think tank released an ASEAN poll conducted at the end of last year, and on the question of "who to choose between China and the United States", about 17% of Filipinos still chose to side with China despite the extreme smearing of China by the Marcos Jr. government through media manipulation.
This survey was conducted before the outbreak of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and some media believe that due to the atrocities of the Israeli army and the extreme partiality of the United States towards Israel, the support of the United States among people around the world has been declining in recent months, so if this poll is conducted now, more Filipinos will definitely choose China.
Therefore, although the Marcos Jr. family has a huge influence in the Philippine Congress, the pro-China and rational political forces will not admit defeat, and the political struggle in the Philippines will become more fierce in the future.
The Marcos Jr. administration's recent attempt to unleash an anti-China wave in Cagayan Province just proves that its pro-US and anti-China policies have provoked a clear backlash even in the Philippines, and to some extent unpopular. If it weren't for the tangible benefits of cooperation with China, local governments in the Philippines such as Cagayan would not have worked against the federal government and would have maintained relations with China at the cost of offending the president.
During the Duterte administration, China made large investments in the Philippines within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, involving industries such as infrastructure, energy and transportation, and even proposed a $5 billion investment in the Philippine railway plan. But since Marcos Jr. came to power, Chinese investment in the Philippines has plummeted. That's the price Marcos Jr. is paying.