Youth Remember People Power: Never again to Marcos! Never again to Duterte!

Anakbayan-USA joins the Filipino people in commemorating the 36th anniversary of the EDSA People Power Movement, the series of protests led by millions of Filipinos across all social and economic sectors, that led to Ferdinand Marcos’ ouster in 1986. The EDSA People Power Movement shows us that no dictator can stand against a united people, and that only through people power can we make big and lasting change. 

Thirty-six years later, Bongbong Marcos Jr. and Sara Duterte have brought their fascist dynasties together to steal power in the upcoming national elections in May. With a Marcos return to Malacañang, we can only anticipate brutal dictatorship, martial law, and intensifying neoliberal economic policies, such as the labor export policy (LEP) that is responsible for the forced migration of our kababayan and making the Filipino nation one of the largest diasporas in the world. 

Ever since Marcos established the LEP, our families have been forced abroad to countries such as the United States with hopes of achieving the “American Dream,” only to be met with economic hardship and family separation—all while bearing the pressure and responsibility to support loved ones in the U.S. and the Philippines. As Filipino youth in the U.S., we have witnessed and experienced these very same sacrifices and struggles among our own family members. The election of Bongbong Marcos as president would multiply this harsh reality for millions of more families, as he promised to continue his father’s neoliberal labor export scheme. 

On the other hand, if Sara Duterte comes into power as vice president, we can only expect a continuation of her father’s selling-out of national sovereignty and militarized COVID response. For youth, Duterte’s COVID-19 response has led to one of the world’s longest school shutdowns, impacting access to education with no social services to attend virtually. Meanwhile, funding that could be used for education has been poured into Duterte’s counterinsurgency war and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict, which has targeted Filipino youth back home and overseas and their right to organize. Sara Duterte, who announced plans to make military conscription manndatory for young people 18 years old and over, would further silence the youth and feed them into that very same war machine terrorizing its own people. She would no doubt also continue to implement the Anti-Terror Law, which Filipino youth across the U.S. protested against precisely because its provisions extend to even us overseas.  

So just as Filipino youth in the U.S. saw their own stake in fighting the Marcos dictatorship during People Power, we must see our role in fighting against the return of dictatorship today. 

Youth represent 30 percent of registered voters in the Philippines, and youth (between the ages of 18 to 35) also make up almost 30 percent of Filipinos in the U.S. We have the power to put pressure on those running for a seat in power in these upcoming elections by showing them that Filipino youth in the U.S. and our families have something at stake: pandemic response, forced migration, attacks on dissent, government neglect, and so many others. And most importantly, we have the power to build a mass movement to turn the tide against the Marcos and Duterte dynasties.

In celebrating the 36th anniversary of EDSA People Power, we remember the thousands of activists and martyrs who fought back against the Marcos regime and contributed greatly to its downfall even if they did not live to see it. We remember the years of painstaking resistance during the First Quarter Storm led by the revolutionary youth organization Kabataang Makabayan, which persisted through the 70s and made People Power possible. As Filipino youth, we must remember how youth were at the forefront of this struggle, tirelessly organizing in their campuses, communities, and the urban and rural areas where the majority of the Filipino were. 

With Anakbayan-USA’s 10-year anniversary approaching this May–the same time as the Philippine elections–we call on Filipino youth and students in the U.S. to join and build chapters of Anakbayan, and for all Filipino youth and student organizations to link arms with us and the rest of the Filipino people in channeling our revolutionary legacy to defeat Marcos and Duterte. Let us do everything in our power to make it known that Filipino youth across the U.S. will not stand for another dictatorship. Let us be prepared to fight back and exercise our people power—both at the ballot and beyond—to topple not only these political dynasties, but ultimately the rotten system they represent. 

Never again to Marcos! Never again to Duterte!
Youth, unite and fight to defeat fascism!

#NeverAgain
#NoToMarcosDuterte2022
#EDSA36