In a move said to be “standing at the forefront of the mass resistance against foreign tech-colonialism”, LGBTQIA+ network Bahaghari called on everyone “to rise up and resist the US-led Pax Silica framework agreement”.
According to Bahaghari national spokesperson Yell Teresa, the Filipino LGBTQIA+ community “will not welcome US (p)resident Donald Trump to enter the country and will not stand aside as (p)resident Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. hands over 1,620 hectares of national land and ancestral domain in Capas, Tarlac for Silicon Valley monopolies and the US war machine.”
For Bahaghari, Pax Silica is a “predatory scheme that seeks to entrap the country into extractive industries, displacing more than thousands of Aeta indigenous communities and farmers, while leaving working-class queer youth vulnerable as the SOGIESC Equality Bill has been stagnant for decades.”
“Let us protect our Motherland! Hindi pwedeng ang lupa na para sa mga Pilipino, sa magsasaka, katutubo, at kababayan natin ay gagamitin ng dayuhan. Imbyerna na ang mga LGBTQIA+ sa mga ganitong strategy ng gobyerno,” Teresa said, additionally pointing out the irreversible ecological destruction and total destruction of livelihoods brought by foreign resource plunder. “Dead mother, dead all! Kung nalagas na ang lahat ng puno, mahukay na ang mga lupa para sa paghahanap ng mineral, at naubos na lahat ng ating likas na yaman, paano pa ang buhay at kabuhayan ng mga LGBTQIA+ at mga mamamayang Pilipino? Komunidad ng LGBTQIA+, iisa lang ang ating tindig ngayong araw: Drag the Pax Down!”
Bahaghari is inviting everyone to join the November 16 rally to “tutulan ang pagtatayo ng AI hub data centers sa ngalan ng Pax Silica Initiative, at para iparamdam sa pasista at homophobic na si Trump na hindi natin siya wini-welcome dito sa Pilipinas.”
For Bahaghari, instead of allowing Malacañang to give the red carpet to foreign imperialist dictates, “all sectors: student organizations, peasant groups, labor unions and civil society groups throughout the country (should) take to the streets, stage campus strikes and participate in mass protests during the ASEAN Summit in Manila.”
“All sectors (should) channel their anger and frustration into action. Protect the ancestral lands, oppose foreign military and economic intervention and fight for a truly free, independent and just Philippines,” Bahaghari ended.
