Surveys show that Filipinos trust highly the United States. But to members of the militant group, Bayan, that positive feeling does not extend to President Donald Trump and State Secretary Marco Rubio who was here in Manila for the 59th ASEAN Foreign Ministers and their dialogue partners July 20 to 24.
Protesters delivered their messages through placards and shouts in a rally at the Cultural Center of the Philippines complex near the heavily-secured PICC where the ASEAN meetings were held. A new feature in the anti-US placards was an opposition to Pax Silica, a US-led initiative that aims to create a global supply chain for AI and the semiconductor industry.
As part of the Pax Silica consortium, it is reported that an AI-focused industrial hub spanning 1,600 hectares is being planned in Tarlac that would result in the displacement of indigenous people in the area.
The rally was marred by the attempted arrest of photojournalists covering the rally by members of the Pasay City police. See related story here.
Photos and video by Bullit Marquez for VERA Files.
