1Sambayan Canada Chapter is here

1Sambayan Canada Chapter is here

Lawyer Neri Javier Colmenares

June 23, 2021

Overseas Filipinos successfully launched the Canada chapter of 1Sambayan, the Philippine broad coalition of democratic forces that aims to present a united front against a Duterte-backed slate of candidates for the May 2022 national election in the Philippines.

Nearly a hundred participants from Canada and outside joined the online launch on June 18 and several hundreds more watched the livestreamed event on Facebook. The images and voices of overseas Filipinos captured on videoclips– from temporary foreign workers, students, seniors, academe, dual citizens – welcomed the positive development of 1Sambayan and expressed their hopes for change and an end to the current Duterte government. Five speakers at the launch carried the discussion of the national situation in the Philippines.

Lawyer Howard Calleja

Lawyer Howard Calleja, Convenor of 1Sambayan and the first lawyer to file a petition against the Anti-Terror Law before the Supreme Court, opened the main program. Calleja shared the history of the founding of the coalition and its Philippine launch last March 2020, its expansion of chapters in different Philippine provinces and abroad, its growth from 12 to 24 convenors representing different sectors and organizations, including overseas Filipinos, and its public announcement of its list of nominees for President and Vice President on June 12.

Lawyer Neri Javier Colmenares of the National Union of People’s Lawyers emphasized the need to defeat Duterte or any Duterte-backed government as an “issue of survival” of the Filipino people so as to stop the killings, stop the selling out of Philippine sovereignty to China and to stop the incompetent pandemic response that has killed thousands of Filipinos, and to hold Duterte accountable for crimes before the International Criminal Court (ICC). From Colmenares: “We will win against tyranny because we are on the side of the truth, of justice and of the people.”

Joanna Concepcion, Chairperson of Migrante International

Joanna Concepcion, 1Sambayan convenor and Chairperson of Migrante International, the biggest global alliance of Filipinos overseas, presented the demands for social protection and welfare of overseas Filipino workers and their families, including those who have returned, were repatriated or unable to leave the Philippines to fulfill their work contracts abroad. Maria Sol Pajadura, the Chair of Migrante Canada, particularized the dire situation of Filipino overseas workers in Canada, especially those without status. Pajadura declared that the 1Sambayan ticket brings hope to migrant workers, “hope that they can return home to their families, home where there are decent jobs and a government that serves its people.”

Prof. Roland Simbulan

Prof. Roland Simbulan, scholar and activist, spoke of the role of China and the US in Philippine politics. He said that despite Duterte’s “seeming pivot and coziness” towards China, “the Philippines’ alliance with the United States remains rock solid.” Simbulan ended his speech with this: “the people’s movements in the Philippines and the region are challenging this situation and have become a powerful voice towards building a genuine and sustainable peace.”

The 1Sambayan Canada chapter joins the other overseas chapters such as Italy, Germany, Benelux, The United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Bahrain, and Australia.

Follow this link to the 1Sambayan Facebook Group.