Amid worsening economic crisis and widespread destruction of the livelihoods of the working masses, workers and the urban poor continue to stand firm. They resist by launching pickets, strikes, transport strikes, and community barricades.

Kawasaki strike. One hundred forty workers of Kawasaki Motors Phils. Corporation (KMPC) led by the Kawasaki United Labor Union went on strike on May 21 amid a deadlock in collective bargaining agreement (CBA) negotiations between the management and union. The union’s picket line stands in front of the company headquarters in Muntinlupa City. They are demanding living wages, just benefits, and recognition of workers’ rights.

Drivers’ strike in Lucena City. Drivers and workers of FOC Transportation Corporation have been on strike for nearly two months at its terminal in Barangay Comon, Infanta, Quezon. The buses ply the Infanta-Lucena City route. The strike was staged to protest the company’s denial of just separation pay and refusal to engage in negotiations. Instead of addressing the workers’ grievances, the company filed charges of grave coercion and illegal strike against the workers and the union federation organizers.

₱1,200 living wage. Workers from the National Capital Region (NCR) led by Unity for Wage Increase Now picketed the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board-NCR while filing a petition for a ₱1,200 living wage on May 22. They timed their action and submission with the consultation called by the NCR wage board.

On June 2, workers staged a picket before Congress to assert the passage of the proposed ₱200 across-the-board nationwide wage increase for all workers. Two days later, Congress passed the proposal on its third reading. They asserted Ferdinand Marcos Jr must immediately approve the ₱200 wage increase although this is still far from the ₱1,200 living wage.

Abolish NCAP and jeepney phaseout. On June 2, the Stop NCAP Coalition held a caravan along major roads in Metro Manila and gathered before the MMDA office at EDSA-Ortigas to call for the scrapping of the No-Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP). According to the coalition, the NCAP is illegal, anti-poor, and bypasses due process. Legal experts and human rights groups earlier questioned the policy, especially regarding its constitutional basis and processes.

Jeepney drivers and operators in Panay and Negros mounted transport strikes and protests to demand the scrapping of the Public Transportation Modernization Program (PTMP) and Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) on June 5 and May 30. This was part of a week of protest Piston launched from June 2 to June 6.

Barricade at Mayhaligue, Tondo. The unity and barricade of residents of Mayhaligue Street in Barangay 262 and 264 in Zone 24, Tondo, Manila successfully thwarted the state forces’ demolition on May 26. Police illegally arrested four people during the confrontation. More than 400 families or nearly 2,000 individuals would lose their homes in the planned demolition and land grabbing by 2288 Ethan Realty Corporation. The demolition was temporarily halted after a Manila court granted a petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on May 27.

Demolition in Davao City. A demolition carried out by a 500-man force, including 300 police, evicted at least 400 families in Upper Arroyo, Barangay Matina Crossing, Davao City on May 23. They demolished up to 80 houses displacing 60 elderly people and at least 200 children. To carry out the demolition, they used a court order that supposedly covered only seven houses in the district. A TRO obtained by the residents on May 24 temporarily stopped the demolition.