Tulong Kabataan
On Wednesday morning, relentless rains battered parts of Luzon causing severe flooding throughout the island. The Philippine government has issued a red warning to anticipate flooding and evacuations in NCR, Rizal and Zambales due to the seasonal habagat (south west monsoon) that is further exacerbated by Typhoon Carina. Streets have transformed into rivers, public transportation services have been suspended, and road closures are rampant, leaving Filipinos stranded and at risk across rural and urban communities. Landslides have already killed a pregnant woman and three children in Batangas province and blocked three major roads in the mountainous Benguet province, according to disaster officials. Evacuations have begun for residents in low-lying areas, however, there are overwhelming numbers of people calling for help with tens of thousands sheltered in evacuation centers.
The most exploited and oppressed communities; workers, peasants, and the urban poor, bear the brunt of the impact from the habagat. Because the Filipino masses do not own the land that they reside and work on, they do not have the power to direct the development of their communities. Infrastructure development and public transportation in the Philippines is instead controlled by the ultra-rich and oriented to maximize profit for corporations and big landowners and graft by government officials. Even moderate storms often result in catastrophic flooding, landslides, and public health emergencies post-storm due to the lack of proper flood control planning and sanitation in urban and provincial communities.
Millions of Filipinos in urban poor and peasant communities are forced by the economic crisis to live in makeshift homes made of corrugated metal or bamboo that cannot withstand the strong wind and flooding. Many of them have already survived displacement several times over, and live in relocation zones due to predatory development and previous climate disasters. This storm is not truly a "natural" disaster. It is the result of decades of theft by bureaucrat capitalists instead of developing genuine, pro-people infrastructure and relief systems.
Every year, the Philippines is hit with worsening typhoons intensified by the climate crisis. Yet, every year, the Filipino masses face the same neglect and suffering as the government refuses time and time again to invest in reliable infrastructure and disaster relief programs that will support the most vulnerable communities. The P244 billion allocated in the 2024 budget is a slap in the face compared to the combined Defense and Police budget allocation of P430 billion used to occupy and intimidate communities fighting for their rights. Since July 2022, an estimated 42,426 people have been forcibly evacuated from their homes by state forces (source: Ibon Foundation). The reactionary government would rather allow people to be displaced by militarization and climate disaster than provide resources for genuine development, leaving tens of thousands across the country uprooted by both state terror and unmitigated storms.
The ruling elite are directly benefitting from the lack of development in the country and misallocation of resources. Earlier this week, during Marcos' State of the Nation Address (SONA), he boasted about the completion of more than 5,500 flood control projects. The big ticket flood project in Cagayan de Oro River named in the SONA is financed by foreign countries, namely Japan, as part of Marcos' "Build Better More" infrastructure program. Like many other projects of this program, many of these flood projects are ways for Marcos' cronies to receive kickbacks from his corrupt regime, as the projects to dredge river beds for flood control don't actually happen, and there are few state audits (source: Philstar article). And while the Philippines drowns during this storm due to these sham projects, members of the ruling elite such as Vice-President Sara Duterte cowardly avoided responsibility by flying out to Germany with her family early Wednesday morning, leaving behind the people to fend for themselves in a state of emergency.
The current crisis of Filipinos in the midst of this tropical storm is evidence that the "accomplishments" and promises that Marcos boasted in his recent SONA are FALSE. The US-Marcos II regime is uninterested in serving the needs of the people, in the name of their own class interests as lapdogs to foreign imperialist developers. As the most oppressed and exploited Filipinos are left neglected, the ruling elite continue to plunder the resources of the people by spending billions in bogus development projects and funding state repression.
The masses must take it upon themselves to build a movement calling for pro-people development, genuine land reform, and an end to the exploitation by the ruling classes. We must wield the unity, solidarity, and power of the people to overcome these hardships and build a new society rooted in the interests of the majority of Filipinos, the peasants, and the workers. We must build the mass movement for national democracy with a socialist perspective!
BAYAN Philippines has quickly mobilized their forces to respond to the immediate needs during this environmental crisis. Organizers are currently on the ground providing aid to affected areas by consolidating and distributing relief items and preparing meals for the masses of people who were relocated to evacuation centers. As Anakbayan USA, we reaffirm our commitment to serving the people and organizing for national democracy, the true solution to the worsening crises affecting Filipinos!
Tulong kabataan! We call on all chapters to galvanize your members and immediate communities to direct donations to support the relief efforts led by BAYAN organizations to alleviate the hardships of the Filipino masses in the face of climate crisis.
Support disaster relief efforts on the ground by donating to Anakbayan USA!
Organize to expose, oppose, and fight the U.S-Marcos II regime and its neglect of the Filipino masses!
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