It wasn’t only world leaders that gathered at the recently concluded Association of Southeast Asian Nations and East Asia summits in the Philippines, but there were also mass movements from across the country. Thousands of peasants, workers, urban poor, indigenous peoples, students and professionals gathered at the nation’s capital to assert our national sovereignty and resist the imperialist domination of our land.
Among the contingents from Southern Tagalog who joined the protests were progressive groups under Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Cavite, where patriots and revolutionaries like Rogelio Ordoñez and Armando Teng were born. Braving police truncheons and water cannons, they echoed sentiments of the Filipino people clamoring for genuine change under the proimperialist Duterte administration.
Like most of our countrymen, the Caviteños suffer chronic poverty and gross inequality while a handful of foreign capitalists prosper through the Cavite Economic Zone. Despite the increasing commercialization of the province, the masses remain poor and downtrodden as slum communities face constant threat of eviction and demolition. Corruption, on the other hand, has penetrated all levels of government. This was the case of Gardenia Valley Subdivision in Bacoor City until the residents and the local chapter of Gabriela Women’s Party ousted the notorious syndicate that had been in control of the subdivision for years, leaving the homeowners’ association deeply in debt.
No real development is possible until President Duterte shifts gear and pursues socio-economic reforms that will benefit the broad majority, not just the few, and lay the foundation for a just and lasting peace. But as long as the government remains deaf to the demands of the Filipino people, we can expect more of these protest rallies—bigger and more creative than ever.
As the popular Buklod song goes: “Habang may tatsulok at sila ang nasa tuktok, ’di matatapos itong gulo.”
DANIEL ALOC, Gardenia Valley, Molino, Bacoor, Cavite, tierra.giya@yahoo.com