“Hindi n’ya kami mabobola. Marcos Jr.’s flowery words cannot hide the stench of his failure to address the needs of the Filipino people.”

This was the statement of Clarice Palce, the Secretary-General of women’s group GABRIELA in their protest action this morning.

Women gathered at Mendiola to symbolically “air BBM’s dirty laundry”. The women, comprising various sectors, hung shirts that highlighted the issues of Filipino women today which Marcos Jr. failed to address, from the horribly low wages in the country to the railroaded passage of the Maharlika Investment Fund.

At the end of the program, the women unfurled the shirts to reveal women’s demands to meaningfully address their issues today.

“What we demand is wage increase that will afford our families a decent life. What we demand is security in our homes. What we demand is for our rights to be upheld and respected. But what did Marcos Jr. give us? He gave us the Maharlika Investment Fund that will only rob us of our already measly earnings! He gave us projects under Build Better More that will only displace us from our homes and livelihood! He gave us worsened persecution of women through the Anti-Terrorism Law!” blasted Palce.

The minimum wage in NCR is P610, almost half the calculated family living wage in the Philippines presently pegged at P1,160. This disproportionately affects Filipino women, who compared to men only earn 78%, descending to 43% in the countryside.

Meanwhile, women are among those deprived of homes through development aggression, with infrastructure and reclamation projects under Build Better More leading to the demolition of urban communities.

“On Monday, we will join the thousands of Filipinos who will storm the streets to belie Marcos Jr.’s ‘achievements’ on his second State of the Nation Address and hold him accountable for the people’s continued misery,” concluded Palce.