THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Filipino groups gathered on July 27 in front of the Philippine Embassy in the Hague to hold a People’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) protest action, denouncing former President Rodrigo Duterte’s continuing attempts to evade justice, and demanding accountability from President Marcos Jr.’s subservience to US and neglect of Filipinos both abroad and at home.
“Duterte’s request for house arrest and his lawyers’ repeated attempts to get him out of the ICC detention center in Scheveningen are a sick mockery of the justice system,” said Lean Jimenez, spokesperson for BAYAN Europe. “The Filipino people must never forget the blood-stained legacy of Rodrigo Duterte. The Filipino people demand that Duterte stay behind bars and face the full weight of justice.”
In addition to demanding Duterte to stay behind bars, the protest also lamented Marcos Jr.’s failed promises and subservience to US interests including his recent visit to US President Donald Trump.
“Marcos Jr.’s touted success in ‘negotiating’ a mere 1% tariff reduction on Philippine exports in exchange for granting tariff-free access to US imports is in reality a total economic surrender and a complete and utter failure,” added Jimenez. “This goes hand in hand to Marcos’ subservience to Trump’s political and military agenda by using the country as a launching pad to provoke a hot war with China.”
“Marcos Jr. promised 20-peso rice, pero nasaan na? He promised ending corruption in government, pero nasaan na? He ran on the promise of ‘sama-sama tayong babangon muli’ pero nasaan na? The majority of Filipinos remain buried in debt, poverty, joblessness, and hunger,” said Icai Enriquez of Pinay sa Holland-GABRIELA. “Marcos Jr.’s slogans are nothing but empty promises.”
“The tide of migration will not stop as long as the Marcos regime continues the decades-long labor export program that sells the Filipino people out as a national resource, and as long as the state of the Philippine nation is one that does not provide for the needs of its people,” said Fig Faeth from Balik/Bayan.
Protesters further raised alarm on Marcos Jr.’s inaction on anti-migrant policies brewing in the Netherlands. In particular, Migrante Netherlands spokesperson Max Moreno expressed deep concern over the tightening asylum rules in the Netherlands, which disproportionately affect Filipino migrants:
“Many of us here fled the Philippines because of poverty, violence or persecution and are now being treated as mere milking cows by the Philippine government. We deserve better treatment. We demand protection, not self-deportation. Jobs and justice in the Philippines, not exported abroad.”
Groups also criticized the proposed law for criminalizing those who support undocumented migrants: “These laws don’t just target migrants, they target those who provide shelter, food, legal and medical help for our undocumented kababayans. We demand that the Philippine embassy provide protection for undocumented Filipino migrants and defend their dignity in the face of growing criminalization.”
Organized by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Europe, Migrante Netherlands, Pinay sa Holland-Gabriela, Angat Pinas, Filipinos Against Corruption and Tyranny (FACT), and Balik/bayan, the protest concluded with a pledge to continue resisting tyranny, demanding justice for Duterte’s victims, and fighting for the rights and dignity of Filipino migrants.
