Bayan ready to march and protest during SONA 2024
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and various people’s organizations will march and protest during the 3rd State of the Nation Address of Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr to highlight the duplicity and failure of the government in addressing the people’s demands for wage hike, decent jobs, and adequate social services.
Themed “Sa Bagong Pilipinas, Pilipino Lalong Naghihirap!”, the protest will reflect the people’s outrage over the indifference of Marcos Jr to the worsening plight of ordinary citizens while his government continues to open the country to intensified foreign military intervention.
Among the key issues for this year’s People’s SONA are the Marcos regime’s failure to improve the people’s economic wellbeing, especially the prices of food and other basic commodities; the danger of escalating conflict in the West PH Sea; the continuing violations of human rights and war crimes committed during counter-insurgency and anti-crime operations; the failure to hold former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte to account for his crimes against the people; and the sickening maneuverings among the political elite highlighted by the battle royale between the Marcos and Duterte political dynasties.
People’s SONA 2024 will also present the demands of various sectors – workers, the urban poor, farmers, fisherfolk, small transport drivers and operators, indigenous peoples, teachers, health workers, government employees, youth, women, environmental advocates, professionals and owners of small and medium enterprises – who make up majority of our people.
Bayan asserts the right to protest during SONA as it denounces the police chief for reducing the people’s clamor for social justice and accountability into mere “inconvenience”. It is the Marcos Jr government which makes the daily lives of our people miserable because of its anti-poor policies and programs. The bloated spending for Sona ceremonies and overkill deployment of police represents unnecessary expense that should have been spent to provide welfare to the poor. These are the inconvenient truths that the police and the government do not want the people to hear.
Bayan is preparing a protest effigy symbolizing the feud of Marcos and Duterte as they vie for power and influence while the rest of the nation is mired in poverty.
An oversized ball representing the ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ logo and Marcos Jr will be tossed around by SONA protesters. The ball is “Binobolang Pilipinas’ which refers to the empty promises of Marcos Jr and his ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ slogan. Artists will also perform protest songs and unveil mini-floats including Bini-inspired songs and slogans. Bayan enjoins the people to be part of the People’s SONA on July 22.
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