Bayan Canada nationwide protests defy Marcos Jr’s SONA

Bayan Canada nationwide protests defy Marcos Jr’s SONA

TORONTO – In a bold show of defiance against the fraudulently elected Philippine president in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), Bayan Canada held protests across Canada on July 24-25, chanting “Reject and Resist Marcos Jr-Duterte,” “Duterte Panagutin, Marcos, Itakwil!” and “Makibaka, Huwag Matakot!”

In Toronto. Anakbayan Canada Chair Myka Jaymalin described Marcos Jr.’s SONA speech as “empty rhetoric and promises that only the Marcos family and his resurrected cronies understand.” She stated that the Filipino people have lost faith in him whose State of the Nation Address (SONA) only promised to continue his predecessor’s neoliberal economic policies that have plunged the country into deep economic and political crises.

Marissa Corpus, spokesperson for Malaya Canada in Toronto claimed that the first SONA delivered by Marcos was essentially a repetition of policies that do not provide solutions to the nation’s problems. She warned Marcos Jr that his every move was being watched the people. “Marcos Jr.’s agenda is not one of change, but of preserving the same elite-led, pro-business economic system that further marginalizes working people,” Jaymalin added.

Leny Simbre, chair of Migrante Ontario cited the Palace parties and celebrations with delicious food on the table, dancing and music “as if there were no suffering, hunger, pandemic, or crisis in the Philippines,” While Marcos Jr. spoke of giving OFWs opportunities and resources they need to survive, Simbre said OFWs have been used as a milking cow for remittances to the Philippine economy since Marcos Sr. enforced the policy of labour export (LEP) three decades ago.

Reverend Ariel Siagan, chair of the Filipino Network in the United Church of Canada, reminded protesters that Marcos-Duterte won on through lies and terror. “They have killed democracy in the Philippines through the spread of fake news, red-tagging, and ongoing assassination and murder of human rights defenders.” He urged the Filipino diaspora to oppose the Marcos and Duterte regimes which, he said have “created conditions for authoritarian rule in the Philippines – conditions no longer viable for a dynamic exercise of democratic processes.”

“Pilipinas pa rin”, sung and performed at the PSONA rally by Malaya Canada convenor Olivia Camacho, seemed to convey the Filipino diaspora’s longing for the country beset by corruption, injustice and poverty. Camacho expressed optimism that through people’s movements in the Philippines and abroad, changes in the Philippines’ economy and politics can be achieved, particularly around the contested West Philippine Sea, which China now illegally occupies.

A statement of the UP Alumni for Leni-Kiko in support of the Peoples’ SONA pointed out that “the previous dubious election left the Filipino people shell-shocked and battle-scarred… but they were never defeated because the people’s struggle does not end with the election.” It challenged Marcos Jr. to provide “realistic and sustainable ways” to end poverty. “Lupa para sa mga magsasaka! Dagdag na trabaho! Marangal na sweldo!”

Community union activist Jojo Geronimo, a staunch Robredo supporter who witnessed the dirtiest conduct of the May 22 Philippine elections, called for strengthening and further expanding the broad coalition of freedom-loving Filipino citizens formed during the election through people’s movements. “They should be pursued and politically armed to combat tyranny and fascism.”

In Ottawa and Montreal

Filipino organizations and Philippine human rights solidarity groups in Ottawa gathered in protest at the Philippine embassy to deliver their own State of the Nation address. Rallyists scored the Marcos legacy of having terrorized the Filipino people for 14 years (through plunder, state-sanctioned terrorism, kidnapping, and economic regression) under martial rule.

Anakbayan Montreal held their own and led the Peoples’ SONA in front of the Metro at Van Horne, with progressive forces and community organizations like the Center for Philippine Concerns, ICHRP, Parents Association, PINAY, Bayan, and Malaya Canada in attendance. Malaya Canada convenor Thelma Aliado urged people to join Malaya Canada in pressing for justice, true freedom, and democracy in the Philippines, especially now that the dictator’s son, Marcos Jr., rules the country weaponizing the law under the Anti-Terror Act.

In Vancouver. On July 24, several progressive organizations led by Bayan Canada gathered in Vancouver, including Anakbayan BC, Vancouver Angat Buhay Coalition, Global Filipino Diaspora, Malaya BC, and Gabriela BC, just hours before Marcos Jr’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA) speech in Manila. Cultural performances, solidarity speeches, and chants demanding “Marcos-Duterte Ibagsak,” “Tama na, Sobra na, Palitan Na!” marked the occasion.

According to Bayan Canada chairperson Chris Sorio, the People’s SONA, which took place in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, all expressed their dissatisfaction with Marcos Jr’s SONA that was lacking in depth and direction while boasting of government programmes that did not reflect the Philippine reality plagued by widespread poverty, unemployment, and social injustices.

Bayan Canada hopes to continue engaging the Marcos Jr administration in opposition to the administration’s anti-people policies outlined in the SONA. Bayan went on to say that its organization’s upcoming congress in Winnipeg on September 17-18 should help further engage the Filipino diaspora and advocates in the fight for true freedom, justice, and democracy currently under attack by the dictator’s son, Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

BAYAN Canada Press Release