Protesters rally outside Philippine consulate in San Francisco to condemn President Marcos Jr.
Several Filipino organizations from the Bay Area rallied Monday outside of the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco to condemn Philippine President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. after he delivered the annual state address in his country.
One direction of traffic on the 450-500 block of Sutter Street was blocked off with about 100 activists of Filipino American groups mobilizing in front of the consulate. They came together holding hand-painted signs and banners to show their dissatisfaction with Marcos Jr.'s insufficient support for working Filipinos who are struggling to make ends meet amid the country's economic challenges.
Leaders of the protest shouted through megaphones phrases such as, "money for jobs and education" and "no more money for Marcos' crimes."
"We're here to give a 'people's state of the nation address,'" said Pyxie Castillo, the national campaigns advisor for the Northern California chapter of BAYAN USA, a national alliance of progressive Filipino groups.
"We're out on the streets showing what the true state of the nation is, not all the lies that Marcos Jr. was peddling when he was making his speech. We're really trying to bring out the different people's issues like economic issues," Castillo said.
Marcos Jr.'s speech touted advances in infrastructure development, while also acknowledging economic challenges due to inflation.
"The hard lesson of this last year has made it very clear that whatever current data proudly bannering our country as among the best performing in Asia means nothing to a Filipino, who is confronted by the price of rice at 45 to 65 pesos per kilo," Marcos Jr. said.
Working-class Filipinos have suffered the most from the unattainable costs of rice, BAYAN USA said. While overall inflation decreased to 3.7% in June from 3.9% in May, food inflation rose from 6.1% in May to 6.5% in June, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
"The rising prices of basic goods are beyond the reach of the masses including the price of rice," BAYAN USA said.
US-Philippines alliance
The demonstrators also slammed US involvement with the Philippines' military. Under a defense treaty, US troops were given access to more bases in the Philippines last year.
"Marcos Jr. continues to allow the U.S. to expand its facilities across the country under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement," BAYAN USA said.
Signed in 2014, the agreement has significantly strengthened the alliance between the Philippines and the U.S. The Philippines is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid in the Indo-Pacific region, receiving over $1.14 billion in defense assistance from the U.S. since 2015, according to the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines.
Marcos Jr. and the U.S. Department of Defense have said that U.S. military aid to the Philippines is needed to defend against Chinese interference in the West Philippine Sea. The West Philippine Sea is a part of the South China Sea which the Philippines marks as its exclusive maritime territory.
"We are continuing to strengthen our defense posture, both through developing self-reliance and through partnerships with like-minded states," Marcos Jr. said. "The West Philippine Sea is not only a figment of our imagination. It belongs to us."
However, BAYAN USA said that the rising U.S. involvement in the region could lead to the Philippines being in a proxy war with China and put the Filipino people in harm's way.
"Marcos Jr. is a puppet of the U.S. and he will give up our sovereignty in exchange for military aid," BAYAN USA said.
Accusations of human rights violations
The protesters also denounced potential violations of human rights carried out under the administration of Marcos Jr. as well as his predecessor, former president Rodrigo Duterte.
During Duterte's rule from 2016 to 2022, violent crackdowns in his "war on drugs" led to the extrajudicial killings of thousands of Filipinos suspected of being drug users or dealers, according to Human Rights Watch. The International Criminal Court is investigating Duterte's regime for alleged crimes against humanity.
Drug-related killings are still occurring in Marcos Jr.'s rule, according to Human Rights Watch. Additionally, Marcos Jr. has said that his government will not cooperate with the International Criminal Court in its investigation of Duterte's alleged war crimes.
Because the U.S. has supported the Philippines with over $1.14 billion in military aid since 2015, BAYAN USA said that the alleged war crimes have been directly funded by the U.S.
Brandon Lee speaks
Brandon Lee, a human rights activist born and raised in San Francisco, gave a speech at the rally in his wheelchair.
In August 2019, Lee was shot in a suspected assassination attempt outside his home in the Philippines for his work defending the rights of the country's indigenous groups. He has quadriplegia after the attack which left him permanently paralyzed.
"Instead of addressing the needs and demands of the Filipino people, the U.S.-backed Marcos Jr. regime continues to ignore them and instead funds the military attack on the Filipino legitimate protests," Lee said.
"We have to dare to struggle and not be afraid!"