On Sept. 27, grassroots organizations Malaya Movement Union City, Anakbayan Hayward, Migrante Union City and Hayward Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines protested on the corner of Dyer Street and Alvarado Boulevard against the worsening political corruption in the Philippines.
They were joined by Filipino immigrants and community members to demand accountability from the Marcos Jr. and Duterte administrations that have been implicated in ghost flood control projects in the Philippines.
Speakers raised awareness regarding recent investigations that revealed many unfinished and inadequate public projects that left Filipino residents devastated from recent flooding and typhoons, despite the Philippine government reportedly spending more than 500 billion pesos (8.5 billion USD) to build flood control infrastructure.
Community members emphasized how poverty resulting from the incompetency of the Philippine government pushes many Filipinos to migrate to the United States to seek better economic opportunities.
Audrey from Malaya Movement exclaimed, “From Duterte to Marcos, these political dynasties work hand in hand with corrupt politicians and government contractors, stealing dollars from necessary infrastructure projects. Our democracy and freedom of speech [in the United States] and in the Philippines are constantly under attack. We all see job loss, a widening wealth gap, natural disasters and failing infrastructure. Billionaires here steal and hoard our money, while political dynasties and US-backed puppet regimes steal from the Filipino people.”
The program also highlighted the importance of support from non-Filipino community members, in order to draw connections between multi-national corporations to environmental disaster in the Philippines and other areas of the world.
Anakbayan Hayward shared the important contribution of Filipino youth in the US, with a young speaker declaring: “We are often told that the youth are the hope of the people. If we allow for the corruption of the government, the lack of jobs, the lack of quality education and the silencing of youth activism to continue, we will have no hope, no bright future, no country to go home to.”
For more information, email ma**************@***il.com or text 510.619.0245.
