D.C. Filipino organizations rally for Peoples State of the Nation Address
Washington, DC – Filipino community organizations and allies rallied in front of the Philippine Embassy in DC on Monday, July 28, to protest the U.S.-backed Marcos regime’s State of the Nation Address, and to deliver their own “Peoples State of the Nation Address”.
The event began with chants of “Makibaka! Huwag Matako!” and “Long live international solidarity!” Then, after a brief introduction, speakers were invited to the stage to address issues affecting the Filipino people at home and abroad.
Desmond Yankah from the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines stated, “We know that by stationing U.S.-made weapons and U.S. troops in the Philippines, a target is being painted on Filipinos’ backs.”
Other speakers touched on issues affecting Filipino migrants, including increasing ICE detention and violence.
A speaker from International League of Peoples Struggles Baltimore-DMV told the crowd, “Now we are experiencing rising attacks in the U.S. using the violence of the state to crack down on workers and migrants and destroying communities to make them more vulnerable to exploitation.”
The event concluded with a cultural performance of a Filipino protest song by members of Anakbayan Montgomery County, and a call for organizers to continue to mobilize for the needs of the people of the Philippines at home and abroad.
“Our ache for the solution stretches far beyond today,” said the speaker for BAYAN DMV, “It goes as far back as our ancestors who were first colonized, and will go as far forward as it takes to achieve true Philippine liberation. In the Philippines and here overseas, we must carry on the unfinished legacy of the national democratic movement by organizing the working class.”