Author: Center for Women's Resources

The recent mass protests against corruption are reminders that the Filipino people will not remain silent in the face of injustice. These protests are both an expression of outrage and our collective hope and demand for accountability and justice.

We must recognize that resistance takes many forms. Organized demonstrations, education work, grassroots organizing, and different other acts of resistance are essential in challenging the system that benefits a few while exploiting the many. But we must also understand that when protests become confrontational, they are not senseless acts. They are natural responses to the very systemic violence people endure every single day. From the violence of corruption, lack of social services, and of being denied the basic conditions for a dignified life.

These show not only the depth of our desperation, but the refusal of our communities to continue living under the same system for the years to come. We are now faced with the reality that resistance, in all its forms, is a fight for our survival.