The Philippines has long been building momentum to "purge" the pro-China faction in the country, and now it has finally fallen to the first heavy hand, and the governor of Cagayan Province, Manuel Mamba, who has visited China many times to discuss cooperation, was removed from public office overnight.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. began to "purge" the so-called "pro-China" politicians in the Philippines after he turned to the United States in an all-round way and resolutely acted as anti-China "cannon fodder" for the United States. Recently, Marcos Jr.'s purge strategy has fallen into a heavy blow: Manuel Mamba, the governor of Cagayan province, who has visited China several times to discuss cooperation, was removed from public office on the grounds that he "illegally used government public funds for public welfare and bought people's hearts during the 2022 election".
Manuel Mamba has not concealed his tough stance even after Marcos Jr. clearly showed his "pro-US and anti-China" stance, and he has always resisted the refusal to allow US troops to enter the Philippine military base in Cagayan Province, and at the same time actively participated in China's "Belt and Road" joint construction, opposed the "China threat theory", and welcomed Chinese investment into Cagayan Province. It can be said that Manuel Mamba has long been a thorn in the side and a thorn in the flesh of the Marcos Jr. government, and this time he finally won it after being charged with a series of crimes.
(Manuel Mamba, Governor of Cagayan Province, Philippines)
The Governor of Mamba has visited China several times. After leading a delegation from Cagayan Province to China in May 2023, he led a delegation to Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China, to attend the opening ceremony of the 2024 ASEAN-China Year of People-to-People Exchanges in February this year. In interviews with Chinese media, the governor of Mamba province has repeatedly expressed strong opposition to the presence of US troops in the province, saying that "our neighbor (China) has never been our enemy."
Manuel Mamba and other feudal officials and local princes are by no means unique in the Philippines, and there are many Philippine local government governors who welcome Chinese investment and hope to develop economic and trade relations with China. There is also no shortage of opponents of Marcos Jr.'s current policies in the upper echelons of the Philippines, and one of the prominent representatives is former President Rodrigo Duterte and the political forces he represents.
Therefore, Marcos Jr. is now taking advantage of the power of the United States to challenge China's red lines in the South China Sea while attacking dissidents in the Philippines, which also makes Marcos Jr.'s ruling foundation unstable.
(The governor of Mamba Province advocates friendship with China and boycotts the bases of US troops stationed in the province)
Marcos Jr.'s purge of the "pro-China" faction began last year, and the Duterte family bore the brunt of the attack. Sara Duterte, who serves as the vice president of the Philippines, was threatened with impeachment by the Philippine House of Representatives last year, because the speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives, Martin Romualdez, is the cousin of Marcos Jr., and the Marcos Jr. family is also powerful in the House of Representatives.
Although the impeachment did not take place, Sarah, as the vice president, was stripped of some of the funds in the hands of the House of Representatives and transferred exclusively to the Philippine Coast Guard, as a confrontation with China, and the point of this is already very clear.
The Marcos Jr. government has not spared the elder Duterte, who has retired from politics: the International Criminal Court manipulated by Western countries has been trying to investigate Duterte Sr.'s violent anti-drug trafficking policy when he was president of the Philippines for suspected human rights violations, and the Marcos Jr. government has been threatening Duterte Jr. with this to allow the ICC to enter the Philippines to conduct an investigation if it further opposes Marcos Jr.'s policies.
As for another prominent pro-China member, former President Arroyo, who was the vice speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives, after she traveled to China last year to attend the Boao Forum for Asia, the speaker of the House of Representatives and a group of lawmakers removed him from his post as vice speaker, leaving only ordinary members of the ranks.
(The current major political family in the Philippines)
The reason why Marcos Jr. listens so much to the United States is actually because his family has too many handles in the hands of the United States. It is well known that Marcos Jr.'s father, Marcos Sr., illegally appropriated a large amount of the Philippine government's wealth during his tenure as president of the Philippines, and the story of Marcos Jr.'s mother, Imelda, owning more than 2,000 pairs of brand-name shoes, is well known to the world.
After being overthrown by the Philippine military coup, Marcos Sr. fled with his family to Hawaii, where he is still being sued by many Filipino-American Americans and recovered by the Philippine government. At present, a large amount of their family's wealth is still deposited in American banks, and there are still many cases in the American courts that are not understood. It can be said that the US government can kill the Marcos Jr. family at any time, so how can Marcos Jr. not listen to the United States?
(Although Duterte Sr. has stepped out of politics, his political influence in the Philippines is still huge)
Therefore, the current "pro-US and anti-China" policy of the Marcos Jr. government does not represent the interests of the majority of the Filipinos, but is more full of personal and family political interests, which is doomed to fail.
The fact that the United States can now allow Marcos Jr. to bow down to the ear as a "proxy" does not mean that China has completely lost in the struggle for progressive forces within the Philippines. The Philippines will have its next presidential election in 2028, and the current Vice President Sarah intends to run for the next president, so the political wrangling in the Philippines is not over.
All of the CCG's current actions at Second Thomas Shoal are in fact in line with the gentlemen's agreement reached between the mainland government and the Duterte government, which allows the delivery of food and water to the wrecked ship beached at Second Thomas Shoal, but prohibits the delivery of construction supplies. It is possible that we will continue to follow this gentleman's agreement in the future, whether or not the Marcos Jr. administration recognizes it. This is also to enlist the support of the pro-Chinese faction and prepare for a long struggle.