MANILA, Philippines — Progressive lawmakers on Monday carried on with their tradition of wearing protest fashion in time for President Rodrigo Duterte’s fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona).
Image courtesy of Bayan Muna
During a protest held hours before the President’s speech — dubbed as SONAgkaisa, members of the House minority bloc such as Bayan Muna representatives Carlos Zarate and Eufemia Cullamat, ACT Teachers party-list France Castro, and Kabataan party-list representative Sarah Elago joined hundreds of others, while wearing their fashion statements that showcased their advocacies.
Zarate wore a “protest barong” designed by the Sama-samang Artista Para sa Kilusang Agraryo, which showed designs junking the Anti-Terror Act of 2020.
The lawmaker also wore a face mask made of abaca, which also had a design to repeal the controversial law.
Image: Courtesy of Bayan Muna
Cullamat, meanwhile, donned a traditional Manobo attire bearing the calls of indigenous peoples.
Her sash read: “Lupang Ninuno Depensahan, Ipaglaban! (Land of the forefathers must be defended, be fought for)” in protest of the reopening of some mining operations for rights violations.
For the Kabataan party-list representative, she wore a Michael Joselo hand-painted mask and sash, which displayed the “youth’s unwavering commitment” to the Philippines.
Image courtesy of Kabataan party-list
The ACT Teachers party-list representative kept her attire simply in black, but wore a sash that read “Ligtas at Dekalidad na Balik Eskwela (Safe and quality resumption of classes), showing the supposed calls of teachers and students for a safe reopening of classes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Image courtesy of Kabataan party-list