Various youth groups and campus publications declared their commitment to participate in a massive protest on Monday, July 27, the day of President Rodrigo Duterte’s 5th State of the Nation Address .
With the theme “SONAgkaisa,” a broad array of political and civil society organizations will stand united through a series of protests on the day of the SONA to denounce the government’s slow response to the coronavirus pandemic and its signing of the controversialThe effort was initiated by the newly-formed Youth Committee, which is comprised of youth groups dedicated to mobilizing the youth and building unity among the youth for the broad-based #SONAgkaisa protests.
“We have witnessed the incompetence of the administration which manifested in different ways…. We can all trace and root these worsening situations from the incompetence of the government,” said University of Santo Tomas Student Council president Dominic Gonzales. Calling the arrangement inconsiderate and out-of-touch with the current reality that a majority of Filipino students are facing, they pushed for an academic freeze until the pandemic is under control.Youth groups also expressed their commitment to continue opposing the anti-terror law, citing upcoming efforts to challenge it “in the streets” and before the Supreme Court.