Various sectors launched successive protests and assemblies at the opening of 2026 to assert their economic and political rights. Actions were held for land and fishing rights, blockades against mining and demolition, and other struggles for livelihood in the first weeks of January.

Peasants and indigenous people. Residents of Barangay Bitnong, Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya continue their barricade against mining despite another attempt by Woggle Corporation and police to dismantle it on January 13. A total of 317 police personnel tried to break the villagers’ ranks but failed after more than 50 residents blocked the road. Environmental defenders, church people, and progressive legislators continue to support the barricade.

Fisherfolk. The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (National Power of Fisherfolk Movement in the Philippines) marched to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Quezon City on January 19 to oppose the ongoing dredging and reclamation in several areas of the country. Pamalakaya-Navotas also staged a protest action along the Navotas City shore on January 15 against the 650-hectare Navotas Coastal Bay Reclamation Project of San Miguel Corporation and the Navotas local government.

Workers. Members of the San Fernando Coca-Cola Rank and File Union protested at the Coca-Cola plant in Barangay Baliti, San Fernando, Pampanga on January 16. The union condemned Coca-Cola Europacific Aboitiz Philippines for violating provisions of its collective bargaining agreement.

Drivers and operators. Piston members protested before the Department of Transportation in Quezon City on January 19 to reiterate their demand to immediately junk the bogus Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program and to return the five-year individual franchise system. The protest coincided with a mass filing for renewal of individual franchises by drivers and operators who refused to join the consolidation. The group estimated that around 500,000 drivers and operators have already lost their livelihoods because of the failed “modernization” program.

Vendors and urban poor. On January 12, around 200 members of Wowee Market Vendors Association marched to the Pasay City Hall to demand the reopening of their market. Instead of facing them, Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano hid in her office while her staff played loud music to drown out the vendors’ demands. Police even threatened to disperse them with water cannons.

That same day, urban poor community residents affected by recent typhoons went to the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Quezon City to demand the compensation money that the agency was supposed to distribute. Led by Kadamay, they asked for a dialogue with the department secretary but were refused.

In Rizal, organizations under the Taytay Urban Poor Alliance and Kadamay-Rizal mounted a protest action at the Baltao Gate, Ortigas Avenue, Taytay on January 11. They demanded an immediate halt to the Baltao Corporation’s illegal fencing off of residents in Sitio Igiban, Barangay San Isidro, Taytay. Around 60 families have suffered from the company’s violence.

Teachers. The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) picketed the Department of Budget and Management in Manila on January 16 to demand the release of delayed benefits, push for substantial salary increases, and call for higher budgets for regularization and benefits of teachers and education workers.

On January 9, the group also called for the scrapping of the so-called “classroom observation,” Result-Based Management System (RPMS), and other performance measurement standards and requirements that burden teachers. They asserted this following the death of teacher Agnes Buenaflor in Muntinlupa City on January 7. Buenaflor’s head hit the floor after fainting while undergoing a “classroom observation.” She was rushed to the hospital but later died.

At Centro Escolar University, the protests of CEU Faculty and Allied Workers Union continue to demand just wage increases and benefits in their CBA. The union condemned the Department of Labor and Employment for issuing an assumption of jurisdiction order on on January 13, the day of their planned strike. A deadlock in CBA negotiations since September 2025 prompted them to mount a strike.

Health workers. Health workers from four government hospitals protested in Quezon City on January 14. They denounced the Marcos regime for failing to release their annual allowances and other benefits. They reiterated their call to increase health workers’ basic pay and end contractualization.

Migrant Filipino workers. More than 1,000 Filipino nurses joined the strike under the New York State Nurses Association on January 12 in New York City. They were among 15,000 nurses from ten private hospitals under Presbyterian, Mount Sinai, and Montefiore. They called for wage increases, benefits, and protection from workplace violence.

Youth. Youth and students welcomed the 2026 opening of classes with protests this January. The actions raised issues of education, academic freedom, widespread corruption, and the US-Marcos regime’s fascism. Mobilizations were held on the campuses of the University of the Philippines, Saint Louis University, Far Eastern University, De La Salle University-Manila, Ateneo de Manila University, University of Santo Tomas, Technological University of the Philippines-Manila, and other universities.