Southern Tagalog activists mark Bonifacio Day with protest march

SAN PEDRO CITY, Philippines — Activists from Southern Tagalog region commemorated the 156^th birth anniversary of revolutionary Andres Bonifacio with a protest march that also denounced the alleged ‘de facto’ martial law under President Rodrigo Duterte.

The protest march features a large tarpaulin that resembles a “warrant of arrest for Duterte,” said Lia Lim, regional coordinator of the youth activist group Anakbayan.

The protest tarpaulin, to be presented at the end of the program, shows a photo of the President being  “charged with treason, mass murder, administrative negligence, and various human rights violations,” the group said.

Lim said at least 300 members of militant groups, most of them dressed in white shirts with red handkerchiefs tied around their necks, just like the “Katipuneros” (Filipino revolutionaries who fought against Spain), are expected to join the protest on Saturday afternoon at the Calamba crossing in Calamba City, Laguna.

Bonifacio is regarded as the “Father of the Philippine Revolution” against Spain.

In 2017, Duterte placed the entire island of Mindanao under martial law amid threats from terrorist groups.

“But the effects (of the martial law in Mindanao) seem to manifest (negatively) to different sectors, like on the youth, urban poor, workers,” Lim added.

The group also assailed the government’s “crackdown” on activists across the country.

Edited by MUF