Malaya Union City visited Congressman Eric Swalwell’s office on August 20, 2024 to talk about the Philippine Human Rights Act (PHRA). The PHRA campaign is one of many ways the organization advocates for the Filipino community.
Malaya Union City was formed in 2020 as the Anti-Terror Law was passed in the Philippines. This law unfairly labeled activists, journalists and anyone expressing dissent towards the government as “terrorists.” Those that were “red-tagged” in this way faced harassment and were illegally arrested.
The organization was formerly known as Malaya Tri-City but changed to Malaya Union City to reflect the large Filipino population. Roughly one in five residents in Union City are Filipino.
In addition to the PHRA campaign, Malaya Union City is campaigning for workers’ rights by advocating for more accessible Assistance to Nationals funds for Filipino migrants in distress and by helping Filipino migrants and dual citizens with overseas voter registration.
The Philippines is one of the deadliest countries for land defenders, journalists and trade unionists. The number of killings under the previous Duterte regime, infamous for its deadly war on drugs, has risen to 30,000. However, since 2016, the U.S. has provided $550 million dollars in military aid to Duterte and implemented paltry human rights restrictions and oversight.
The Philippine human rights situation has only worsened under the current Marcos-Duterte administration, which is why progressive Filipinos and allies have continued to call for the passage of the PHRA and a rejection of the Philippine Enhanced Resilience Act (PERA).
The PHRA would introduce legislation “to suspend United States security assistance with the Philippines until such time as human rights violations by Philippine security forces cease and the responsible state forces are held accountable.” PERA seeks to do the opposite by providing more aid to Philippine military forces, which have a long track record of human rights abuses.
Since 2020, Malaya Union City has engaged in legislative work with Rep. Swalwell to urge him to endorse the PHRA. Malaya successfully got Swalwell to endorse the 2020 and 2022 versions of PHRA. Malaya met with Swalwell’s office this year to urge him to endorse the current version.
The visit took place in Swalwell’s Castro Valley district office. Malaya Union City members were joined by members of East Bay Democratic Socialists of America, Hayward Community Coalition, and Pilipino American Society for Education.
The group met with Desiree Broom, District Chief of Staff and Foreign Affairs Advisor for Congressman Swalwell’s office in Castro Valley and Mallory De Lauro, Senior Advisor/Counsel in their Washington, D.C. office.
During the meeting, speakers covered a range of topics. Malaya member Jordan talked about the human rights situation in the Philippines and corruption under the current Marcos Jr. administration. Member Kristiana talked about the organization’s work with migrant Filipinos and how they can benefit from money being redirected towards human rights.
Other topics included the climate of teachers and schools in the Philippines, and the bombings happening in the country. Malaya member Roelle spoke about the journalists who are also being targeted by the Philippine government including Brandon Lee, who survived an assassination attempt by the armed forces in the country.
Their efforts to gain support for the PHRA seemed promising. Members set up a deadline for Swalwell’s advisors to respond to their stance on the PHRA. Representative De Lauro said she will relay information to Rep. Swalwell.
“I think it was a good opportunity [to be heard]. I was most inspired by how during this round we were able to bring in more contacts outside of Malaya Union City, especially non-Filipinos who felt compelled to speak on the human rights situation in the Philippines,” Jordan said, continuing, “Even though we didn’t get a yes or no, we will continue to hold the office accountable and continue to build within the community.”
Learn about PHRA at: humanrightsph.org
If you have questions or would like to get involved in the Union City PHRA campaign, contact Malaya at [email protected], or on Instagram and Facebook @malaya.unioncity.
