Sulong! Defeat Duterte’s Anti-Terror Law!
OFFICIAL STATEMENT
July 13, 2020
Sulong! Defeat Duterte’s Anti-Terror Law!
Malaya Statement Proceeding
July 12th Joint National Call With Migrante USA
A Timeline of Terror
As brutal and bloody as they were, the past four years under Duterte might have only been a preamble to a more ruthless and unrelenting rule. Almost as soon as Duterte signed the Anti-Terror Law (ATL), repression and fascism have run rampant, seemingly picking up speed by the day!
And yet, there’s more! On July 13th, Philippine National Police Chief, Archie Gamboa, announced forthcoming plans for ordinances patterned after the notorious “anti-tambay” operations they conducted in 2018 that apprehended nearly 80,000 Filipinos in Metro Manila alone simply for loitering. Both of these petty plans–issued to the PNP from Duterte himself–only harass the already struggling Filipino people left vulnerable during a plague, and hungry during massive unemployment.
Tama na! Sobra na!
Filipinos worldwide have called to oppose Duterte’s fascism and to defeat the Anti-Terror Law. Despite the current social constraints, the Malaya Movement along with our allied organizations responded quickly! Thousands attended our webinars and panel discussions highlighting leaders in the Philippines on the frontlines of defending democracy. Filipinos and our allies across twelve cities from east to west coast held protest actions opposing Duterte’s Anti-Terror Law! We roared condemnation in front of Philippine Consulates in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City as well as the Philippine Embassy in Washington, DC. Bold protest banners were hung from freeways in Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, and Austin. Concerned citizens called their legislators in phone-banking drives organized in Boston, Seattle, New Jersey, and the SF Bay Area. And social media platforms are filled with videos, artwork, memes, infographics, and cartoons against Duterte’s Anti-Terror Law using #junkterrorbill and #junkterrorlaw.
On Sunday, July 12, the Malaya Movement and Migrante USA hosted Sulong! Defeat Duterte’s Anti-Terror Law, a national webinar sharing our recent response and how we’re pushing forward to defeat the ATL and Duterte’s ongoing fascism. Guest speaker and Co-Chair of the National Lawyers Guild International Committee, Suzanne Adeley, shed light on relevant American laws such as the Patriot Act or the McCarran-Walter Act that may provide insight to what we can expect in the days to come. She shared experiences from similar immigrant communities who had to contend with state terror and surveillance, and underscored the need for us to “organize for the safety and security of our own communities, and to mobilize together in the face of such fearful institutions”. Chairperson of Migrante USA and Malaya Movement National Convener, Bernadette Herrera, closed the call with a challenge to “awaken the fighting spirit of the Filipino People” who have proved throughout history that the solutions to all the hurdles that have blocked our way have always been found in our struggle against them.
In this spirit, the Malaya Movement is resolved to uphold our historical legacy of resistance, and spirit of defiance that have frustrated and defeated conquerors, occupiers, and dictators past!
We call for all Filipinos to join our kababayans fighting on the frontlines of democracy in the Philippines by coming together, here in the US, to defeat the Anti-Terror Law, and to continue fighting until the final end of Duterte’s fascism!
Malaya Movement is organizing nationwide protests on July 17th and July 27th with Migrante USA, and many other allied organizations to continue opposing the Anti-Terror Law!
Please check our website or social media page for updates, statements, and our #JunkTerrorBill toolkit for resources.
AMPLIFY our opposition to Duterte’s Anti-Terror Law!
STRENGTHEN our resolve to defeat fascist dictatorships and tyranny in the Philippines!
MABUHAY ang sambayanang Pilipino!
(Long live the Filipino People!)
National Secretariat
Malaya Movement
