A day after Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s fourth state of the nation address, national democratic groups from Southern Tagalog protested before the regime’s various agencies to hold them accountable for their failure to address the people’s demands. Led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-Southern Tagalog, the groups picketed on July 29, the fifth day of their “SONA Caravan of Southern Tagalog.”
The groups first trooped to the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) national office in Diliman, Quezon City, to inform the agency about the evictions faced by different communities in the region. Rizal urban poor communities’ representatives submitted a petition regarding housing and the accreditation of their associations.
The delegation then proceeded to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) office in Barangay Batasan Hills, Quezon City, to demand compensation and aid for victims of recent disasters. The groups submitted a petition to the agency and engaged in a dialogue.
According to the Alyansa ng mga Magsasaka para sa Kumpensasyon (AMK), the government is yet to provide compensation for Typhoon Kristine’s damages to their livelihoods last year. They said the typhoon season has come again, and they will again certainly face damages.
Police and state forces harassed protesters at the DSWD. After the protest, officers from the Quezon City Police District, acting under the orders of Police Lieutenant Roberto C. Villanueva Jr of Police Station 6, Batasan, blocked them. The police accused the protest of obstructing traffic, being out of line, and lacking permits.
The regional delegation then went to the Office of the Ombudsman in Barangay Bagong Pag-asa, Quezon City. The groups mainly demanded justice and accountability for the Ombudsman’s dismissal of the counter-complaint filed by the region’s human rights defenders Hailey Pecayo and Jpeg Garcia against 59th IB officials.
The protest also called for accountability from the 4th IB and 203rd IBde for the killing of the young Mangyan, Jay-el Maligday. The Maligday family also filed a case with the Ombudsman against Jay-El’s murderers. A hearing regarding this case was held at the Ombudsman this July.
The groups finally marched to the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) office in Barangay South Triangle, Quezon City where they held a short program. Mangyan and Dumagat indigenous peoples from Quezon, Rizal, and the island of Mindoro were among the participants of the protests.
“This commission has long exploited and oppressed the indigenous peoples instead of helping us,” IMASEN’s Wilma Quierrez said. Bayan-Southern Tagalog stated that the state continues to exploit and disregard indigenous peoples in favor of development projects that destroy not only the environment but also the livelihoods and ancestral lands of the indigenous communities.
“This is the real SONA of the people,” Bayan-Southern Tagalog spokesperson Lucky Oraller stated.
The Southern Tagalog delegation arrived in Metro Manila on July 25 to participate in protests against Marcos’ SONA. They stayed for five days in the national capital to expose the region’s issues to the Filipino people and the Marcos regime.
