Progressive groups led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) USA Northeast staged a protest outside the Philippine Consulate General in New York on June 12 to commemorate Philippine Independence Day.
“When the government celebrates Philippine freedom, what they really celebrate is their freedom to steal, to exploit, to sell out,” said Gab of Malaya New York.
Speakers from Migrante New York, the International League of People’s Struggles (ILPS) Northeast, and the New York Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (NYCHRP), among others, condemned the United States’ efforts to integrate the Philippines into its AI and technology supply chains through projects such as the Luzon Economic Corridor and Pax Silica.
They also called for an end to unequal US-Philippines economic arrangements, which they said exploit Filipino workers and turn the Philippines into a staging ground for US-led wars and military operations.
Photos by Hannah Keziah Agustin
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