Marcos launches RP campaign for UNSC nonpermanent seat

At a little after 11 a.m. in the United Nations General Assembly Plenary Hall, President Marcos of the Philippines formally presented his country’s bid for a nonpermanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2027-28 term.

- By Troi Santos

Speaking at a special plenary meeting, Marcos described a non-permanent Council seat as “not a right of any state, but a privilege earned,” and said the Philippines was ready “to be part of the solution” as the UN confronts multiple, overlapping crises.

Marcos said the world was living through “a time of profound global action,” citing conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, the Sudan, Myanmar and other parts of the Middle East and Africa. These wars, he said, had tested “the institutions designed for peace” and underscored the need for a Security Council that “not only reflects responsibility and power” but also “reflects respect,” including for regions such as Asia and the Pacific that he noted are home to more than half of humanity and central to global commerce.

The President cast the Philippines as “an independent, trusted partner, an innovative pathfinder” with along record in UN peacekeeping and diplomacy. He recalled that Filipino troops were among the first to deploy under UN command during the Korean War, where 112 Filipino soldiers died “for the cause of peace.”

He also cited a 1963 Philippine Air Force deployment, known as Libus 1, which was sent to the Congo to help secure the country’s airspace and carried out civic-action activities with local communities. Since that mission, he said, the Philippines has deployed 15,000 troops to 22 UN peacekeeping operations in Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and the Asia-Pacific.