ON JUNE 12, activists condemned the recently-passed Anti-Terrorism Law in protest mañanitas—the largest being the University of the Philippines Diliman’s Grand Mañanita. The event was heavily covered by the media and hailed “peaceful and orderly” by the Philippine National Police (PNP). However, reports of the harassment and arrest of protesters outside the National Capital Region (NCR) stayed far from the public eye.

Many provincial activists have noticed law enforcement and national news outlets showing favor towards activists in NCR and seemingly neglecting those from elsewhere. Although this disparity seems to fragment the nation-wide struggle for democracy, rights defenders nationwide continue to hope for a resistance against tyranny that knows no borders.

Distant realities

The fragmentation between the so-called “Metro” and “provinces” has been said to persist because of differences in population size, relative urbanity, and the presence of national government offices. From such variations in context arise power dynamics that influence a national actor’s actions in certain areas.

Activists Rosa* and Jay*, from Negros and Cagayan de Oro (CDO) respectively, share that the biggest threat to activists outside NCR is heightened harassment from state forces. Jay reported that PNP officers once disrupted a rally in CDO and took protesters’ identification cards, while Rosa said that almost every protest she has gone to in Negros ended with threats of arrest.

Although the risks mentioned by Jay and Rosa are deemed commonplace among provincial activists, those from NCR appear to be spared from them. Rosa, who now studies in the Ateneo, feels that academic institutions in Manila protect activists while typically less politically-oriented schools in the province do not.“Whenever I go to protests in Manila, I don’t feel any sort of fear. Especially when [they’re] in Ateneo,” she said.

Aside from active suppression of dissent, Jay attributed a lacking sense of solidarity within his community as a hindrance to its politicization. He noted that cultural norms affect even the concerned citizens’ preference for parliament discussions and aversion to mobilization. On the other hand, Rosa associated the centralization of most major organizations in NCR with the low concern for political affairs elsewhere. She added that the small activist communities in different regions provide less space for organizations, while making for clear targets in the eyes of state forces.

As such, small neighborhoods may lead unwanted visitors to activists’ doors. Rosa shared that protestors in Negros routinely detour when returning from rallies to throw off trailing police. In Jay’s case, home itself can be unsafe for activists being stigmatized by relatives, often due to a perceived association of political organizations with militant groups. With danger currently accompanying activists wherever they go, Rosa longs for a time when political participation would not involve such trauma.

Building bridges

Activists’ recurring feelings of powerlessness in their localities eventually led to a rise of organizations that served as networks among different regions. Such groups are usually based in NCR and have chapters around the country. As a member of such an organization, Jay remarked that the level of coordination between chapters and headquarters still leads to inconsistencies in their movement. John Lazaro from the Samahan ng Progresibong Kabataan, another similar network, helped shed light on collaborations in the small but growing world of Filipino student activists—from the end of an NCR-based organiser.

Lazaro mentioned that, to a degree, the mostly middle-class background of student activists allows them to socialize and participate in projects through social media. He noted that this online community sees its membership limited to the privileged, adding that its activities are restricted to quick campaigns as unstable internet hinders the thorough coordination that long-term projects require.

The coordination and expansion of a network begin in the capital. Yet, even after an organization expands throughout the country, Lazaro mentioned that the resulting chapters still struggle to mobilize due to their small membership and lack of experience, further reinforced by most major projects being located in Metro Manila.

Lazaro divulged that most progressive organizations’ focus on tackling  national issues neglects the region-specific concerns experienced on a community-level. In addition, regional activists effectively mitigate this issue through their close engagement with grassroots initiatives and members of the local working class.

Faced with a nationwide attack on human rights, Lazaro envisioned the traditionally-centralized struggle for resistance evolving into an interconnected effort among all regions. “Because there is a struggle everywhere…we need to build links that allow us to work democratically,” he said.

Burdens of proof

Part of what links regional activists to a national front is the recognition of issues from their areas as being national concerns. Instead, Jay, Rosa, and their peers feel that national media outlets are silent about attacks on provincial dissenters, but are quick to cover similar cases in NCR. Sharing the same sentiment as other regional activists, Rosa recalled how her close encounter with arrest in Negros went unreported. “If that happened in Ateneo, everyone would be talking about it,” she said.

Though regretful of nationwide news’ Metro-centric tendencies, ABS-CBN Correspondent Chiara Zambrano believes the reporting of stories beyond NCR is more due to circumstance than preference.

Zambrano explained that the newsdesk decides which stories—among a heap of daily submissions by reporters—get to air on national television. “Mahirap kasi kung sabihin [na gustong] ma–national ang isang news…it’s not [the stakeholders’] choice, neither is it [the reporter’s] (It’s hard to want for a piece of news to become national. It’s not the stakeholders’ choice, neither is it the reporter’s),” she said.

Reporting nationally, Zambrano remarked, is a balance of covering as much ground as possible within a finite amount of space.

This involves discerning whether a story is impactful enough for national concern. Covering the 2007 protest march of farmers from Sumilao, Bukidnon to Manila was one of Zambrano’s experiences in trying to find a regional event compelling enough for national news. “Meron talagang ma-gimmick lang…some of those are really staged (Some events are really just gimmicks. Some of those are really staged),” Zambrano revealed, adding that she was usually averse to reporting on such events. 

She then highlighted how the Sumilao farmers’ persistent walking despite the initially low media attention made their protest fascinating. “They don’t seem to care if [cameras follow] them or not. ‘What do they really want?’… That was my curiosity, that’s why I went to them. Inabutan ko sila nasa Butuan na,” she said.

In acknowledging the many stories of provincial activists that have yet to be heard, Zambrano stressed that any present lack of attention toward a cause does not diminish its value. She believes that if activists utilized the media elements reporters need for national-level pitches—and if reporters collaborated with activists to understand what needs of theirs must be communicated—more underrepresented stories can be told.

*Editor’s Note: The interviewees’ names have been changed in order to protect their identity and privacy.