The Party of European Socialists called for international support for all progressive and democratic forces in Southeast Asia from Manila today, where PES Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck attended the Akbayan party congress.
Being the main democratic opposition force in the Philippines, Akbayan Citizens Action Party held its 9th congress ahead of the 2025 midterm national and local elections in the country and welcomed hundreds of delegates and international guests.
PES Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck said:
“We are here again to extend our support to the progressive forces in the Philippines and to help them safeguard the democratic process in the country. The PES was here standing by the people of the Philippines in 2017 when former president Rodrigo Duterte encouraged extrajudicial killings of thousands of people. And we are here today to give strength to Akbayan and Senator Risa Hontiveros for the upcoming elections and their efforts to establish democratic rules and advance their advocacies and legislative agenda.”
Back in 2018, Giacomo Filibeck was detained by the border police of President Duterte and was not allowed to enter the Philippines and support the opposition on the ground.
Filibeck added:
“I am a friend of the Philippines, but I am an enemy of Duterte and his alike who violate human rights!”
The PES is monitoring the situation in the region and is worried about the developments in Thailand. The progressive Move Forward Party (MFP), the democratic winner in the last general election, is facing dissolution after some groundless accusations by the local Election Commission. The verdict by the Constitutional Court of Thailand is expected on August 7th.
In Manila, the PES joined the Progressive Alliance call to the judges and independent bodies in Thailand to exercise the utmost prudence and maintain their independence in decision-making in the MFP case.
PES Secretary General Giacomo Filibeck and Alexandru Mihai, PES Adviser on Statutory Affairs, attended the “SocDem Asia Pacific – Progressive Alliance Joint Conference: Working for New Progressive Era,” held in Manila the day before the Akbayan congress.
