Akbayan on the ASEAN Summit and the Myanmar situation

With the ASEAN Leaders’ Summit ongoing in Cebu City chaired by the Philippines, we urge ASEAN leaders and the Marcos administration to adopt a bold, principled stance on the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. The region must reject the illegitimate military junta. Its rule has caused a direct spillover into regional security through transnational scam and trafficking networks that exploit ASEAN citizens to bankroll the regime.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. identified the protection of Southeast Asian nationals abroad as a top priority in his opening remarks. This commitment is hollow if scam hubs in Myanmar, which operate under the junta’s political cover, are allowed to expand. Last year, hundreds of Filipinos were repatriated from these compounds after being recruited under false pretenses and subjected to torture and abuse.

This exploitation is inseparable from the escalating domestic violence in Myanmar. March 2026 was the deadliest month for civilians in the country’s modern history, with 518 killed in military attacks. In the first four months of 2026 alone, 1,117 civilians have died. The population faces approximately 29 daily attacks, including eight airstrikes. Forced conscription has claimed 100,000 young people over two years, while 22,000 political prisoners remain detained.

Legitimizing the junta through diplomacy ensures the survival of the criminal networks it controls. Akbayan emphasizes that protecting Filipinos must be central to Philippine engagement in this crisis. A foreign policy that accommodates the junta enables the very operations that exploit Filipino job seekers.

The Philippines should explicitly reject the legitimacy of the junta’s political processes, including the recent elections and parliamentary convening. The government must push for international action to dismantle trafficking networks, ensure humanitarian access, and support legitimate democratic actors like the National Unity Government. The people of Myanmar and the Filipinos caught in these cycles of exploitation deserve a decisive response.

See the original post.

See the Burmese translation.