Caucus of Development NGO Networks

26th General Assembly

GA Resolution No. 26 – 04

Resolution Opposing the Government’s Plan to Declare a Revolutionary Form of Government

WHEREAS, consistent with CODE-NGO’s Covenant on Philippine Development principles, our network vows to safeguard the fundamental freedoms and human rights of all, as well as to promote, protect, and assert the right to the development of the people, as enshrined in the Philippine Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;

WHEREAS, the threat for the possible declaration of the revolutionary government started when President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his frustrations in the increasing cases of corruption in the bureaucracy and criminality in society as an effect of rampant use of illegal drugs. “For the Philippines to really go up, what the people need is not martial law. Go for revolutionary government so that everything will be finished,” he said. Further, he sees federalism as the only way to solve these issues, including the “Bangsamoro problem,” and declaring a revolutionary government is the only means to pave the way for federalism. He repeated the call for a revolutionary government from a perception of alleged destabilization plot by the opposition against him;

WHEREAS, President Duterte cites the validity of declaring a revolutionary government, the way former President Corazon Aquino presided over a revolutionary government after the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. However, the 1986 EDSA revolution reinstated democracy from the long dictatorship of Former President Ferdinand Marcos. President Duterte’s revolutionary government instead appears to install another dictatorship;

WHEREAS, instead of creating an environment of peace, security and stability in society, these developments raise various apprehensions among the public, such as:

• further cases of human rights violations,
• undermining democratic institutions
• possible postponement of elections because of term extension of incumbent officials
• curtailment of freedom of expression and constricting dissenting opinions.

WHEREAS, CODE-NGO sees that the current situation does not call for a revolutionary government as an option to institute social, political, cultural and economic reforms, and that President Duterte’s plan to declare a revolutionary government appears to undermine our democratic traditions and institutions and may lead to closing spaces for transparency, accountability and meaningful people’s participation in governance and for equitable access to resources;

NOW THEREFORE, the CODE-NGO 26^th General Assembly resolves to: 

• call on CSOs and the public to oppose any actions related to the plans of the government to declare a revolutionary form of government;
• urge President Duterte, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to enforce its mandate of upholding human rights and safeguarding the freedoms of all in accordance with the Philippine Constitution, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international laws and legal instruments. 

Approved on this 24th day of November 2017 at the CODE-NGO 26^TH General Assembly in Quezon City, Philippines.