Amidst intensified foreign aggressions in the country, different student organizations from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) joined basic sectoral groups from Metro Manila in picketing their calls for a “genuine” sovereignty of the 125th anniversary of the Philippine Independence Day in front of the Chinese Consulate and United States (US) Embassy on Monday, June 12.
Several PUP groups gathered for an action protest during the commemoration alongside militant unions and youth groups, widening their calls to defend the rights of the country over the West Philippine Sea and to junk the continuation of “imperialist” American-Philippine military alliance through the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).
PUP Sentral na Konseho ng Mag-aaral (SKM) President Kirchoff Angala asserted that PUP students need to call for a “genuine” freedom on the verge of budget cuts, campus militarization, and anti-student policies that repress academic freedom in the university, manifesting an “untrue” independence within the sector.
Angala emphasized that as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “peddles” the freedom of the Filipinos overseas, the progressive disposition of the Philippines seeming like a “colony” of China and US is less recognized by a common Filipino—thus, it is more crucial for the youth to amplify the “false” freedom in the celebration.
“Nanatiling huwad ‘yung kalayaang natatamasa natin… Maniningil tayo. Maniningil ang mga kabataan sa lahat ng atakeng ginagawa nila hindi lang sa ating sektor pero higit lalo sa malawak na hanay ng mamamayan. We are calling for ayuda, health services, higher budget in education, pero ang sinusukli nila sa'tin ay pagtatayo ng mga military bases sa Pilipinas,” he said.
Anakbayan PUP College of Communication (COC) Chairperson Daniela Riego said that students fighting against imperialist forces is a crucial movement in attaining genuine independence in the country. “Hinding-hindi tayo magiging malaya hangga’t nakakulong tayo sa mga neoliberal na polisiya na ipinapataw sa'tin ng mga impeng bayan at ng mismong estado,” she said.
Kabataan Partylist PUP-COC Chairperson Katebelle Ladlad also reiterated that the sprinting legislative development of Mandatory ROTC alone is a strong manifestation of a “false” freedom for the Filipino students alongside recent student attacks, budget cuts, and other policies suppressing academic freedom and expression.
Basic sectoral groups including indigenous people alliance Katribu and fisherfolk federation Pamalakaya actively picketed outside the Chinese Consulate in Makati City on Monday to uphold the territorial rights of the country against over 100 chinese vessels setting sail in the West Philippine Sea, causing alarms to local fishing boats in the country's shoals.
“Hindi po tunay na malaya ang ating bansa. Huwad po ang kalayaan na ito…Tayo daw po ay malaya pero naghihirap, walang makain ang mga tagapaglikha ng pagkain ng ating bansa—ang magsasaka at mga mangingisda… Wala pong tunay na kalayaan ang nagaganap dito sa ating bayan,” said Pamalakaya spokesperson Ronnel Arambulo.
The protest was then followed by a march from Rizal Park to a supposed program led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) in front of the US Embassy in Manila to oppose the continued construction of expensive American military bases and EDCA sites in the country, which was later barricaded by battalions of Manila Police forces on Kalaw Avenue.
“Ayaw natin sa US. Ayaw natin sa imposisyon ng EDCA… Ayaw nating ginagawang playground ng mga Amerikanong sundalo ang ating bansa. Hangga’t nandiyan ang mga dayuhang tropa, hindi tayo malaya… Ang ating gobyerno po ay nagpapakatuta sa dalawang imperyalistang kapangyarihan,” BAYAN President Renato Reyes Jr. asserted.
The US has been newly granted an access to four new local bases in the country last February, allowing American military to build facilities and defense assets in our territory, while the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported in April that Chinese vessels continue to maneuver in the West Philippine Sea despite the Hague declaring the waters’ rights in Philippine territory way back 2016.
Article: Chris Burnet Ramos
Graphics: Cathlyn
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