Today, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, in cooperation with other groups and networks in the Philippines and abroad, is announcing the holding of 12 days of protest against US Pres. Donald Trump’s visit to Manila on Nov. 16-17.
Under the banner “Trump Out,” we shall hold daily actions ranging from marches, rallies, indoor assemblies, public forums, pickets, concerts, teach-ins, camp-outs, and vigils aimed at expressing the Filipino people’s strong objection to Trump’s visit.
We view Trump and his government as representing the imperialist interests of the United States of America that have caused untold hardships on the Filipino people and other peoples of the world.
In particular, we are raising our rejection of Trump’s war of aggression in Iran, his support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza, military escalation in the Philippines and Asia Pacific, sanctions and military interventions in Venezuela, Cuba, the Caribbean, and the entire Western Hemisphere, his unjust crackdown on immigrants and critics on the US mainland, and his many other actions that harm the global economy and undermine world peace.
In the Philippines, Trump, with the full cooperation of the Marcos government, has bolstered the country’s role in the US’ “first island chain of defense” against China and as a staging ground for military intervention in the region, dragging us ever closer to war with our biggest neighbor. During his last visit in 2017, he called the Philippines the most valuable piece of military real estate. Since then, the US has drastically increased the presence of its troops, military facilities, and weapons systems all over the country.
The latest component is the Pax Silica Economic Security Zone in Tarlac, a project that is being promoted by the American Chamber of Commerce as the country’s “defense-industrial and dual-use backbone.” Pax Silica threatens to displace thousands of Ayta people and farmers, gobble up water and energy resources, and cause massive environmental problems not only in Tarlac but in mining areas all over the country. With US demands for extraterritorial authority and virtual control of our critical and rare earth minerals, it is shaping into a total sell-out of our national sovereignty and patrimony.
We vow to hound Trump from his hotel to Malacañang and everywhere else he goes, to remind him that he is not welcome here and should be kicked out.
As part of the “Trump Out” campaign, various groups from Southern Tagalog and Central Luzon will converge with protesters in Manila in the run-up to Nov. 16. A big rally will be held in the afternoon of the 16th and possibly the morning of the 17th until Trump leaves. Elsewhere, protest actions and events will be held in various parts of the country and overseas