We joined a powerful day of action put on by youth-led organizations from DC, NY, and FL with drawing attention to the US-backed killings under President Rodrigo Duterte’s regime in the Philippines urging Congress to pass the Philippines Human Rights Act. The United States has offered the Philippines over $2.4 billion in weaponry since Duterte took power in 2016. 3,000 pairs of tsinelas, or flip flops worn by everyday Filipinos, were laid on the National Mall representing 30,000 lives murdered under the US-backed dictatorship.
Groups like Anakbayan, Gabriela DC, Bayan DC, Palestinian Youth Movement, Malaya, American Friends Service Committee spoke and performed uplifting the stories of people everywhere affected by US imperialism. While acknowledging this piece of legislation is a small yet important step each group draws attention to US military spending going directly to continuing to oppress people from Puerto Rico, Palestine to the Philippines.
