FFS Weekly Currents: Nov 23, 2023

Every week, the Filipinx Freedom School will share a collection of pressing news about the Philippines and the Filipinx diaspora rippling out from around the world.

November 23 marks the 14 year anniversary of the Maguindanao (or Ampatuan) Massacre. In 2009, 58 people0–of which 32 were journalists--were kidnapped and brutally murdered by the ruling Ampatuan "clan" for supposedly supporting a rival politician, Esmael Mangudadatu. In the wake of the massacre, then president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared Martial Law, severely limiting civil rights and freedom of press. An overwhelming majority of those suspected in the murders, were never convicted.

14 years later, Mindanao journalists remember, reflect on Ampatuan massacre

Journalists recall what has come to be known as the worst case of election violence in the Philippines and the worst single attack so far on media workers — the Ampatuan massacre

RAPPLERHerbie G

This week continues the series of worker stoppages and walkouts by Jeepney drivers for a more just transition to "modernizing" the current public transportation system in the Philippines. One major target of Jeepney workers (working with the ITF) is the Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) Modernisation Program, which disproportionately punishes the poor and indebted.

Jeepney drivers hold another transport strike as Marcos fails to act on campaign promise

(3rd UPDATE) Jeepney drivers launch another transport strike against government’s deadline for a financially unsustainable modernization program

RAPPLERRalf Rivas

On November 22, the University of Philippines Diliman University Council released a statement, committing its solidarity with the Palestinian people and their struggle for liberation.

UP Diliman University Council Stands With Palestine, Denounces Genocide by Israel - University of the Philippines Diliman

University of the Philippines Diliman

University of the Philippines DilimanDiliman Information Office

Cordillera activists on November 22, challenged the government's "Terrorist" designation, and more broadly, the constitutionality of the Anti-Terror Act.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. faced protests from Filipinx groups in his visit to the settler colony of Hawai'i. It was the first time that the son of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. had been in the islands– where the ruined family had been exiled--for almost three decades.

Philippine President Bongbong Marcos’ return to Honolulu draws mixed reactions

More than 30 years after he and his family lived in exile here, Marcos returned to Honolulu for a two-day visit and was met with the fanfare of a concert and election rally with about 1,000 Filipino community leaders. But not everyone welcomed him with open arms.

Hawaii News NowAnnalisa Burgos

In Hawaii, ‘vocal minority’ pushes back on Marcos return decades after exile

Hawaii is known to have a Filipino diaspora that is strongly supportive of the Marcos family. But some migrants want to show there are still voices of dissent as the President marks his return to the island.

RAPPLERDwight de Leon

Marcos Jr. had also recently attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco. Protestors critical of Marcos' domestic and international policies from numerous grassroots organizations joined up with other thousands of protestors demonstrating against world leaders in attendance, such as U.S. president Joe Biden and China president Xi Jinping.

On November 13, former senator Leila De Lima was released from detention. The detention had lasted for almost 8 years. Her arrest was due to her critique of former president Rodrigo Duterte's mass violence against the poor and vulnerable, what he called a "Drug War."

De Lima’s freedom is vindication for her and a test for Marcos, Duterte

De Lima’s freedom is a test for the Marcos and Duterte alliance and could expose differences in priorities between the two administrations

RAPPLERJairo Bolledo

And lastly, the Critical Filipinx Collective held a Brown Bag Discussion on "Palestine, APEC, and Resistance" on November 6.

If you have any pressing and resonant news you'd like to have shared in FFS Weekly Currents, please email at filipinxfreedomschool_at_gmail.com