Bayan Negros is set to stage a protest at the Rizal Park in Bacolod City at noon Monday, July 25, ahead of the state of the nation address (SONA) of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. later in the afternoon.
Marcos will deliver his first SONA at the House of Representatives in the Batasang Pambansa on Monday afternoon.
“BAYAN Negros and its member organizations will hold a protest rally to assert the people’s demands and to amplify the true state of our country in the lens of the marginalized. The people will forward the People’s Agenda to combat Marcos Jr’s lies and grand proclamations”, the group said in a statement released Sunday, July 24.
“Now more than ever, it is urgent for the broader democratic and anti-Marcos forces to unite and resist the imminent abuse of power in the new Marcos regime,” it added.
Marcos is utterly incapable of leading the country to recovery. In fact, his leadership could be even more disastrous for the Filipino people, Bayan Negros said.
Appointing himself as Cabinet secretary for agriculture would ensure that peasants would remain landless in our country, it added.
In Negros where feudal exploitation is intensified, Marcos cronies will continue to monopolize vast lands and refuse the peasants’ demands, Bayan Negros said.
“The regime of Marcos Jr. also closed down on the possibility of resuming the peace talks with CPP-NPA-NDF. Instead, they are pushing for ‘localized peace talks’, which is nothing but a bogus mechanism which does not address the roots of armed rebellion,” it added.*