Hundreds of Filipino Americans Join the Two Los Angeles Marches,Millions mobilized in Los Angeles Great American Boycott-Day Without Immigrants

Los Angeles –What do we want? AMNESTY! OUST, OUST, Oust GMA! Legalisasyon, Na!

Hundreds of Filipinos flying the Philippine flag marched in downtown Los Angeles in the morning and again, in the late afternoon from MacArthur Park to Miracle Mile, Wilshire, west Los Angeles in rallies that drew hundreds of thousands of people up to an estimated number of more than a million people.

At around 10:30 AM, the People’s CORE-AJLPP contingent composed of Kabataang maka-Bayan (KmB – Pro-People Youth) youth and students flying the Philippine, the AJLPP red-and-blue flags and the KmB red flags marched with the March 25 Coalition. This coalition had spearheaded the more than one million march in Los Angeles on March 25 and the follow-up action on April 10. The March 25 Coalition called for the nationwide boycott – the Great American Boycott, A Day without Immigrants. The early day march mobilized more than 300,000 to 500,000 people.

At 2:00 PM, the Filipino contingent started from the people’s CORE office in Beverly Blvd. People’s CORE–CDIR, UCLA Samahang and the Pilipino Pilipino Workers’ Center (PWC) and beating drums and flying the Filipino flags marched along the sidewalks of Historic Filipinotown in Beverly with Latinos who marched from downtown to MacArthur Park after the rally to join the MacArthur Park rally at 4:00 PM. They joined up with the Gabriela Los Angeles contingent at FASGI.

From Parkview St, the more than a hundred-strong Filipino contingent marched from Beverly St to Rampart Blvd. The loud banging of their drums drew a lot of Latinos to join them and cheered them on shouting the slogans: Si Se Puede! (We Can Do It!) The Filipinos shouted with slogans of their own: ANG TAO ANG BAYAN, NGAYON AY LUMALABAN! EL PUEBLO UNIDO, JAMAS SERA VENCIDO! THE PEOPLE UNITED WILL NEVER BE DEFEATED!

At 3:00 PM, the contingent joined up with the PWC contingent composed of parents with their children and workers who rode the bus from the PWC Center and were positioned at the front of the march. While Annalisa Enrile, Gabriela Network-USA Chair was being interviewed by KSCI TV, the march started with the taxi-drivers, mostly Pakistanis, leading the march.

The AJLPP-KmB contingent that marched from downtown joined the Filipino contingent at Wilshire and Lafayette Streets. This time the Filipino contingent swelled to more than two hundred people. More than 30 flags composed of AJLPP, Gabriela, PWC, KmB and many Filipino flags dotted the parade of the Filipino contingent. The contingent marched banging drums without let-up to the Ati-Atihan beat and Cordillera music while shouting LEGALISASYON, NGAYON, NGAYON, NGAYON!

The Filipino contingent stopped at the Philippine consulate at Wilshire-Kingsley Street for more than three minutes and held a short program. They shouted: OUST GMA, Resign GMA, NO TO CHA-CHA! and STOP THE FASCIST KILLINGS! FREE THE BATASAN 6! They were cheered by the thousands of marchers and the Filipinos who were lining up in front of the St. Basil’s Catholic Church and at the consulate grounds.

After the rally at the Miracle Mile-La Brea intersection, even while riding the bus going home, the Filipinos cheered the Latino brothers and sisters who were walking back to their homes as far as Filipinotown after marching for 4.5 miles.

CDIR-People’s CORE estimates that more than a million people marched and watched and cheered the protestors along the MacArthur Park-Wilshire-Miracle Mile 4.5 mile route. They also flew American and their national flags and gave the amrchers food and water all along the way.

It was a rousing day showing Filipino, Asian, Latino immigrants, and all immigrants’ unity for justice and immigrant rights! #