Filipino diaspora protests Marcos Jr.'s State of the Nation Address in US

Filipino community groups staged People’s State of the Nation Address protests in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivered his penultimate SONA in the Philippines. Demonstrations organized by Bayan USA, Malaya Movement, the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines and other activist coalitions drew hundreds of participants and highlighted grievances over economic hardship, alleged repression of dissent and the treatment of Filipino migrants.

Protesters reported that 51 activists were arrested in the Philippines ahead of the SONA, and Bayan USA Vice‑Chair Jom Dolor was barred for five years from the Philippine Embassy’s consular section in Washington for attempting to deliver a letter of demands. In San Francisco, demonstrators also criticized the Philippine Consulate General’s lack of response to migrant concerns. The rallies underscore growing diaspora opposition to the Marcos administration’s policies and its perceived crackdown on activism.