Bicolano protesters say ‘struggle not but over’

‘Within the areas, we’ll proceed to rally simply as we did earlier than; the Bicolano name for reform didn’t finish 40 years in the past,’ says Bicolana Gabriela spokesperson Nica Ombao

ALBAY, Philippines – Past the enduring photos of EDSA, the Folks Energy motion 40 years in the past was fueled by regional uprisings that echoed throughout provinces, the place the brutalities of Martial Regulation had been additionally felt. 

In Bicol, the times main as much as the revolution noticed over 25,000 protesters flood the streets of Legazpi, culminating in a large meeting at Peñaranda Park, as veteran protesters recalled. 4 many years later, those self same streets and the identical park grew to become the staging floor for commemorative protests, the place over 300 attendees from Albay, Camarines Sur, and Sorsogon gathered on Wednesday, February 25.

Nica Ombao, spokesperson for Bicolana Gabriela, a regional chapter of the Gabriela Ladies’s Get together, mentioned that these regional actions had been the spine of the nationwide motion. She famous that scattered protests in provincial city facilities gave folks the braveness to affix the historic mobilization in Metro Manila, overcoming the concern weaponized by the Marcos dictatorship.

“Folks Energy didn’t solely occur in EDSA,” Ombao mentioned. “There have been scattered protests on the town facilities, like what we’re doing now. We proceed to demand accountability and proceed standing up for a province nonetheless denied real agrarian reform, for ladies who lack humane wages, and for a youth nonetheless preventing for accessible schooling.”

For protesters like Ombao, the struggles skilled by many earlier than the Folks Energy Revolution in 1986 are nonetheless a lived actuality, particularly amongst marginalized teams in Bicol. She mentioned the systemic abuses that compelled Filipinos to revolt 40 years in the past persist all through the area.

“Within the areas, we’ll proceed to rally simply as we did earlier than; the Bicolano name for reform didn’t finish 40 years in the past,” Ombao added. “It continues, and it’ll persist so long as we face exploitation and abuse.”

Similar abuses

Many years after the primary Marcos presidency, the present namesake administration is once more below hearth for a file suffering from stories of systemic human rights abuses.

Karapatan-Bicol, a regional human rights alliance, documented over 780 human rights violation circumstances between June 2022 and December 2024, in keeping with its 2025 report. 

Regina Barbacena, who was simply 19 when she joined the historic rallies in each Bicol and Manila, discovered herself on the entrance strains once more at 59. Now a member of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bicol — the regional chapter of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas — she mentioned she sees a troubling cycle repeating.

“What occurred then appears to be repeating — and even worsening — at this time,” Barbacena mentioned. “The Rice Liberalization Regulation has added to the farmers’ burdens, compounded by floods that sweep away our crops due to large corruption in flood management initiatives.”

Similar struggles

Between 2021 and 2024, Bicol obtained practically P49.3 billion for flood management initiatives, but the area stays devastatingly susceptible to floods. In 2024 alone, agricultural harm from Extreme Tropical Storm Kristine surpassed P2 billion, leaving Barbacena and numerous different Bicolano farmers to face a complete lack of their livelihoods.

On high of experiencing the wrath of calamities, many Bicolano farmers face a widening earnings hole exacerbated by the area’s excessive inflation charge. These financial pressures have compelled many right into a cycle of debt and excessive poverty (READ: Earnings hole, excessive prices pressure Albay farmers as agrarian support falls quick).

“Regardless of the space, we have to unite and proceed becoming a member of the protests,” Barbacena mentioned in Bicol. “Even after 40 years, we’re experiencing the identical struggles, which is why it’s much more important that we transfer as one.”

Apart from Barbacena, many farmers who’re a part of regional collectives additionally shared their requires land reform, as land-grabbing circumstances plague the area, together with the current case in Siruma, Camarines Sur. Becoming a member of them had been fisherfolk, transport employees, and several other different progressive collectives, all united in decrying the area’s land-grabbing circumstances.

Bicol College scholar chief Ihra Madrideo, amongst different youth and scholar leaders who joined Wednesday’s protests, mentioned the true essence of Folks Energy lies in awakening a brand new technology to champion the rights of the marginalized.

“Our struggles stay the identical throughout totally different sectors, proving that our fellow residents are nonetheless being weighed down by oppression and hardship,” Madrideo mentioned. “Within the spirit of EDSA, our struggle shouldn’t be but over; the battle for the nation continues in Bicol and past.” – Rappler.com