Satur C. Ocampo

As of June 2025, a total of 737 persons were being held as political detainees in various detention centers and civilian prisons across the country. Of that total, 164 were arrested under the current administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. Many of them have been slapped with trumped-up criminal charges, noted the human rights monitoring alliance Karapatan. The court hearings of their cases have been moving at “snail’s pace” – which in this country of ours is not unusual.

Persistent inequality and deeply rooted political structures have been preventing the Philippines from moving upward from its present status as a lower-middle income country. As of July 2, the World Bank reported that, in 2024, the country’s per-capita gross national income (GNI) increased by 5.67 percent from $4,230 in 2023 to $4,470 in 2024. Despite that increase, the Philippines did not budge from the lower-middle income bracket, set by the World Bank at between $1,136 and $4,495.

Yesterday, the protest rally that began at 1 p.m. in Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila was billed as“Kilos Bayan Laban sa Kahirapan, Korapsyon at Kawalang Pananagutan (People’s Action against Poverty, Corruption and Lack of Accountability). It was led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and allied organizations. Two other protest actions on the same issues were held (one in the morning, the other in the afternoon) by two different groups before the People Power Monument on EDSA.