Anakbayan Canada celebrates the success of our national 2021 Anakbayan Congress, and the many accomplishments of our nation-wide organizing since our first congress in 2016.
During this three-day congress, representatives of all 7 Anakbayan chapters and affiliates across the country congregated, educated, sung, shared, and shouted in the spirit of our theme: “Advance, youth! Rise and fight!”
In the years since our last congress, Anakbayan has grown from two chapters to seven, spanning from Montreal to Vancouver and still expanding further, as more chapters develop in more communities and cities. This expansion has been fueled by the collective desires of Filipino youth to gain a deeper understanding of the conditions of the Philippines, both historical and current, and to act to change them.
The Filipino people have come face to face with the violence and crises of US imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat capitalism. These three basic problems have only intensified under Duterte’s rule, and have been brought into mainstream discussion with the incoming 2022 Philippine elections. At our mid-congress mobilization at the Philippine Consulate in Toronto, Anakbayan members across the country raised their voices to address the current fascist and dictatorial US-Duterte regime, hold the tyrant Duterte accountable for his many crimes against the Filipino people, and say no to Marcos-Duterte 2022!
We recognize that Duterte’s wanton violation of the Filipino people’s rights and dignity happens within the context of a global imperialist system. Because the ruling classes of the United States and Canada benefit from the mass extraction of natural resources and export of labour from the Philippines, the Filipino people languish in conditions of poverty, exploitation, and the patriarchal and racist culture which degrades women, LGBTQ+ people, and national minorities in the Philippines — and will continue to do so even after Duterte’s ouster, until the whole system changes.
Anakbayan uses the program of national democracy to struggle against these conditions, because we believe that a better world is possible. We believe that the Filipino people will achieve a society where each person can live in health and with dignity!
Our national congress has strengthened our local chapters in supporting this movement for national democracy in the Philippines. We continue to arouse the Filipino youth and broader public about the issues in the Philippines; organize to consolidate ourselves and become leaders in the movement for national democracy; and mobilize to change the oppressive conditions faced by the Filipino people.
Centre: Anakbayan chapters and affiliates sell income-generating projects to raise funds for the national democratic movement.
Right: Attendees participate in a Step-by-Step Organizing workshop.
We heard from Jeann Miranda, national spokesperson for Anakbayan Philippines, about the current situation in the Philippines. We applied our knowledge of the material conditions of the Filipino masses in the homeland and in the diaspora to our work as local Anakbayan chapters/affiliates, through workshops, group discussion, and cultural performances. And, we united on our general program of action for the years 2022-24, and elected our new National Executive Committee (NEC)!
Our NEC is the coordinating body for national campaigns and provides support for local organizing. Welcome to our newly-elected NEC:
- Chairperson: Myka Jaymalin of Anakbayan Toronto
- Vice Chairperson: Alyssa Schenk of Anakbayan Ottawa
- Finance Officer: Rosie Lucente of Anakbayan Toronto
- Propaganda Officer: Miguel Maravilla of Anakbayan British Columbia
- Secretary General: Isa Carlin of Sulong UBC
Through national coordination and a deep understanding of local conditions, Anakbayan members across the country advance the struggle for national liberation from US imperialism and a genuine democracy in the Philippines. At our congress, we united to expand boldly, fight imperialism, and to oust the US-Duterte regime!
We, the Filipino youth, rise up and fight against the oppression and exploitation that causes our migration from the homeland! We fight for justice and peace in the Philippines! We fight for our own liberation, and the liberation of all the Filipino masses!
ANAKBAYAN-CANADA 