Thousands of protesters staged public demonstrations on Monday to amplify the nation’s grievances during the fifth State of the Nation Address of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday.
Progressive groups from the labor, health, and other sectors assembled at 7a.m in Quezon City before marching along Commonwealth Avenue for their Sona ng Sambayanan program.
Militant group, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan estimated that around 15,000 joined their protest.
Among those who joined is labor leader Leody De Guzman, firmly opposing the proposed United States (US)-led Pax Silica Project in New Clark City, Tarlac.
‘The dynastic government is just ripping us off. They brought in Pax Silica. They are seizing more than four thousand hectares from farmers in Central Luzon,’ he said in Filipino during a speech at the rally.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has highlighted the economic benefits of Pax Silica during his nation’s address, primarily in generating employment opportunities, as well as advancing the country as an Artificial Intelligence hub.
Earlier, effigies depicting US President Donald Trump as the puppeteer and Marcos Jr. as the puppet took center stage in the rally, showing the administration’s subservience to the US.
Meanwhile, labor leader Luke Espiritu criticized the P85 wage hike in the National Capital Region, further describing the increase as ‘starvation wages’.
‘And I testify to you that no worker is celebrating because of the P85 wage increase in the National Capital Region… their wages are not living wages, they are still starvation wages,’ Espiritu expressed.
The rollout of the P60 first tranche for minimum wage earners took effect last July 25, under the Department of Labor and Employment’s Wage Order No. 27.
Espiritu added that the majority of the labor workers remain contractual, insinuating that programs like Kadiwa and the P85 wage hike are mere band-aid solutions.
‘When discussing the price of goods, the solution is easy for him: increase the number of Kadiwa stores. When discussing the profit and income or livelihood of the poor and the Filipino masses, his solution is aid. The same goes for wages; P35 is not true because that does not meet the needs of the workers,’ he explained.
The President held his annual address at the Batasang Pambansa complex that lasted one hour and 26 minutes, detailing the administration’s accomplishments and prospects for his last two years of presidency.