Bagong Alyansang Makabayan–North California, Malaya Movement, and Tanggol Migrante Movement (TMM) protested at the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco, California on March 23. They denounced the inaction of the Philippine Embassy on the grievances of Filipinos in the US.

The protest carries on the week-long mobilization of progressive groups in the US from March 21 to 27 with the theme “Held the Corrupt Accountable! Jail the Corrupt!” In these actoins, the groups demanded an end to the US and Israel’s war of aggression on Iran; called for social services, aid, and protection for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and the Filipino people; livelihood and living wages; price rollbacks on goods; and for the abolition of VAT and excise taxes. They also demanded accountability for all those involved in corruption and in abandoning Filipinos in the US, including former Labor Attaché Macy Maglanque, Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez, Department of Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro, Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac, and Ferdinand Marcos Jr himself.

According to TMM, the Philippine Consulate and the Embassy denied immediate support to migrant workers in the US including Kuya Rodel in California, Kuya G in Washington, and Kuya J in Kentucky in the past weeks. In contrast, Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his cohorts spent over ₱12 million during their trip to New York on March 7. Romualdez and Lazaro continue to downplay the violence Filipino immigrants experience in the US.

The groups strongly condemned the consulate for its callous and degrading treatment of Rodel Pagdilao and his family. Caregiver Pagdilao died on February 27. His family sought the help of the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco to bring home his remains. The consulate deprived them of assistance and rejected their documents for allegedly lacking proof that Pagdilao was Filipino. The consulate even refused his new Philippine issued passport, insisting instead on a green card or proof of dual citizenship. Pagdilao was a member of the Pilipino Association of Workers and Immigrants (PAWIS*).

According to PAWIS South Bay, the consulate fails to serve its fellow Filipinos even in death. This is evident in its refusal to help repatriate Pagdilao’s remains and its failure to provide assistance to his family. The consulate’s actions clearly deny services to hundreds of thousands of undocumented Filipino migrants who contributed $35.63 billion in global remittances as of December 2025.

Kuya G also received no assistance under the Assistance to Nationals program while undergoing treatment for illnesses caused by the criminal neglect of his health by the detention center owner Geo Group and by the Philippine Consulate. This belies the statement of consular officer Maria Paz Cortez, who claimed that the consulate provides only repatriation, medical, and legal services.

The Philippine Consulate in Chicago and the Philippine Embassy in Washington currently have still not extended any aid or even checked on Kuya J, despite the family informing their offices more than a month ago. Kuya J was illegally detained on January 22. Over the course of a month, he was transferred three times across different facilities and faced inhumane conditions.

Tanggol Migrante Movement holds accountable the consulate and its officials for their criminal neglect of Filipinos in the US. The crucial question: where does the billions-worth of funds allocated for Assistance to Nationals go if it is not being provided to those in need?

* Pawis is Pilipino for sweat, a metaphor for hard work.