It’s been 2 months since Malaya USA’s immersion trip concluded, where we met community members impacted by the Marcos-Duterte regime’s fascist policies. We integrated with the loved ones of victims of Duterte’s deadly drug war, peasant farmers in Negros where multiple high profile extrajudicial killings have happened in recent years, and Lumad indigenous people of Mindanao who have been subject to harassment and intimidation by state forces.

Since the trip, there have been significant developments in these communities.

Hear their stories.

This International Human Rights Day, we want to recognize the contributions of human right defenders around the world and especially those fighting for human rights in the Philippines. 

1. In September and November, thousands took to the streets in the Philippines against corruption and hundreds were arrested and faced vicious cruel police brutality.

2. Throughout the year, we’ve seen the release of 8 Filipino migrants, through the efforts of their loved ones, advocates, and Tanggol Migrante Movement. 

3. In November, Julie Jamora, Malaya USA’s Secretary General,  was denied entry into the Philippines in November 2025 and was placed on the blacklist due to her role as a community leader and human rights activist.

Bonifacio Day memorializes what’s not only foundational to Filipinos but a beacon for the world: our continuing and fierce resistance against odds is a model for world resistance against fascism, impunity, and corruption. Mabuhay ang protesta ngbayan laban sa Marcos-Duterte regime.

On Bonifacio Day, Filipinos all over the world took to the streets to demand that all those implicated in stealing from the Filipino people be held accountable for their crimes.

In the United States, the clamor for justice and accountability were echoed by Malaya Movement chapters and other progressive Filipino organizations, inspired by Bonifacio’s revolutionary legacy of fighting for genuine, systemic change.

We welcome the ICC arrest warrant for former PNP Chief and current Senator Bato Dela Rosa for his crimes in Duterte’s drug war. The Philippine government must immediately facilitate Bato’s arrest and transfer to the Hague where he must face consequences as chief architect of Duterte’s drug war.

As more than 200,000 people flooded the streets in the Philippines, Filipinos overseas took part in the widespread protest against corruption, impunity and fascism, including Malaya Movement USA chapters across the United States on the 53rd anniversary of Marcos Sr.’s declaration of Martial Law.