INTERNATIONAL WORKING WOMEN'S DAY! 💜

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The Climate Change Network for Community-based Initiatives (CCNCI) stood in solidarity with the militant women who took to streets in defiance of the Marcos Jr. 's administration's attempts to suppress the protest in celebration of International Working Women’s Day (IWWD). The Manila Local Government recently rejected GABRIELA’s request for a permit to utilize Liwasang Bonifacio; however, due to persistent assertions from the group the permit was eventually allowed by the governing body.

Over 10,000 women marched towards the United States Embassy in order to demand the abolition of the 12% value-added tax (VAT) on basic necessities such as food, petroleum products, energy, and water. GABRIELA emphasized that the regressive taxation on necessities disproportionately punished the poor and middle class while allowing large corporations to further accumulate profit.

Furthermore, they also destroyed an effigy with the faces of President Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte who the group called as the “big fishes of corruption” that is responsible for the large scale plunder of public funds. The wide ranks of women also trooped to the United States Embassy in condemnation of the US-Israel War which recently claimed the lives of over 165 school girls after a missile struck Shajareh Tayyebeh girl’s school during school hours.

Joining the mobilization is Lory Aguada from the Dupax del Norte Environment Defenders, which is the broad coalition of anti-mining residents in the region, who spoke on the experiences of women behind the barricades against destructive mining. She stated that women were at the forefront of the anti-mining barricades in Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya who faced violence at the hands of state-authorities in defense of their ancestral land during the Writ of Implementation.

Aguada also stated she was one of the leaders who received a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) from the Bambang Regional Trial Court during one of their many attempts to dismantle the barricade. She calls upon the government for the full abolition of the drilling operations of Woggle Corporation, Inc. and an end to the destructive mining that has long exploited their natural resources.

“Alam mo po natin na tahasan na po ang kanilang pagnanakaw sa ating yaman. Sa Nueva Vizcaya, ang produkto lamang namin ay agrikultura na siyang ikinabubuhay namin. Doon po namin kinukuha para madala namin ang aming mga anak sa paaralan. Ang aming mga produkto ay dinala din dito sa Metro Manila hindi lang po ang taga Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya ang apektado kung hindi ang buong Metro Manila sapagkat 70% na agrikultural product ay nanggagaling samin,” states Nay Lory.

CCNCI maintains that the defense of the environment and the achievement of climate justice is inherently tied to the struggle of women who are at the frontlines in the global effort for climate adaptation and mitigation. Against the machofeudal patriarchy that remains pervasive in our government, it is apparent that special attention must be given in addressing their grievances. Furthermore, the lewd remarks made by Rep. Bong Suntay and Atty. Ferdinand Topacio is further proof that the disproportionate power dynamics within the government has allowed such a culture of misogyny and sexism to concretize within the halls of its institutions.

A study by Santos & Matavia (2025) states that there is a sociopolitical dimension in the campaign for climate justice that allows for the empowerment of women who remain pivotal in the perpetuation of the struggle for achieving meaningful change; however, the research also stated that the Women Environmental Human Rights Defenders (WEHRDs) are more vulnerable to the patriarchal structural institutions that are pervasive at present.

In line with this, CCNCI firmly asserts that the defense of the welfare of women is to defend our environment.

Happy International Working Women’s Day!