Prosecute Sara Duterte. Progressive groups protested at the Senate in Pasay City on June 3 to call for the immediate start of the long-delayed impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. They condemned the Senate for using various pretexts to delay the proceedings. The House of Representatives already submitted the articles of impeachment as early as February.

The Senate drew widespread criticism for violating the 1987 Constitution in delaying the trial. The critics include professors from the University of the Philippines College of Law. Meanwhile, various groups led by the Taumbayan Ayaw sa Magnanakaw at Abusado Network Alliance (TAMA NA) are set to launch a large protest on June 11, the day of the Senate hearing on the impeachment.

Fishers fight. Pamalakaya and the Save Laguna Lake Movement held a fluvial parade in Muntinlupa City on May 31, the national day of fishers, to call for the scrapping of the destructive Laguna Lake Roadshore Network Project and the 2,000-hectare floating solar power project in Laguna de Bay.

On May 30, hundreds of fisherfolk, supporters, and environmental advocates marched together to Mendiola in Manila. They called for the protection of fishers’ rights, opposed reclamation, and demanded the reversal of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the 15-kilometer municipal waters.

Justice for Junver. University of Santo Tomas students lit candles on their campus in Manila on May 29 to call for justice for the death of their fellow student Junver Toledo, 22. Academic pressure reportedly drove Toledo, a student at the UST College of Rehabilitation Sciences, to commit suicide on May 17.

Free the political prisoners. Karapatan-National Capital Region held a picket protest before the Quezon City Hall of Justice on May 20. They called for the immediate release and dismissal of cases of illegal possession of firearms and explosives against unionists Mark Ryan Cruz, Romina Astudillo, and Jaymie Gregorio, who belong to the Human Rights Day 7. The hearing scheduled for that day was postponed to August because the judge was reportedly “on vacation” and thus stood them up.