“Although I’m so far away, I know that the conditions of survival alone remain brutal for the majority of people in the Philippines. It is important that, as Filipinos abroad, we do not forget about our country.” - Nerissa Cabayan

The skyrocketing cost of rice and food, unprecedented unemployment rates and human rights violations in the Philippines have sparked the beginning of the Bayan USA People Power Tour.

Hosted by the Minority Student Association and the Asian Student Union of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the tour kicked off at the UWM Fireside Lounge on April 19. Filipino hip-hop emcees Geologic, AKA Prometheus Brown of Seattle’s Blue Scholars and San Francisco’s Kiwi, formerly of Native Guns, picked up the microphone to share their music and the message within it.

“We are volunteering to do this concert because we have a responsibility beyond music, to raise awareness and hopefully incite action that addresses the human rights crisis and government corruption in our homeland,” said Geologic.

Throughout their hip-hop performance, Kiwi and Geologic integrated political awareness and education. They both consider hip-hop a powerful cultural tool to spread a message that they feel is uplifting and empowering.

“For me, personally, I found my identity and was eventually politicized through hip-hop,” said Kiwi. “I feel like I owe it to this culture to make music and do shows that will hopefully have the same impact on this generation of youth and hip-hop fans.”

The name of the tour was venerated from the two mass movements to oust past dictators of the Philippines. The first uprising of 1986, dubbed the People Power Revolution, saw hundreds of thousands of Filipino civilians, as well as several political, military and religious officials, openly confronting the authoritarian regime of Ferdinand Marcos. The successful presidential overthrows are noted for their non-violent protesting practiced by the crowd.

However, the call for another ousting to be written into Philippine history, already considered by many to be rich with revolution, is being heard in the archipelago.

The succeeding president following the second People Power Revolution, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, continues to accrue findings of government graft as well as human rights violations such as extrajudicial killings and abductions.

“We are not only talking about the disappearance and increasing documentation of the political killings of journalists, priests, organizers and innocents,” said Kiwi. “That is the fear tactic that is confronted day to day by anyone in the Philippines that continues to demand the basic necessities of food, clothes, shelter and education.”

Kiwi expanded on the problems plaguing the Philippines, making reference to a rising cost of living and expanding wealth inequality.

“We are also talking about the rising cost of food that forces many Filipinos to spend up to 80 percent of their income on today, a dilapidated employment sector, and an overwhelming gap between less than 1 percent of the population that owns over 95 percent of its wealth and everyone else that is trying to survive,” he said. “This instability only ripens the conditions for a third People Power movement in the Philippines.”

Bayan USA is an umbrella coalition of socially progressive organizations that has worked in the West, Midwest and Eastern regions of the US. They attempt to spread awareness about the human rights conditions and standard of living in the island chain.

Seeking better lives, Filipinos lead the number of incoming immigrants to the United States in the Asian ethnic category. Many feel that they cannot forget the conditions that they came from.

Nerissa Cabayan came from the region of Mindanao in the Philippines 10 years ago. She has been organizing Filipino caregivers and first generation Filipino immigrants since she arrived in Chicago.

“There are very different lifestyles between here and the Philippines. Growing up, I lived in a very war-torn region of the country, and experienced the raids of the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] and outright poverty firsthand. I could never forget this,” said Cabayan.

Geologic and Kiwi will be traveling from the Midwest to 13 other tour stops on the East and West coast to spread awareness about the Philippines, as well as the work of their organization.

Proceeds from the tour will be donated to the efforts of the group. Bayan-USA is an alliance of progressive Filipino-American organizations advocating for social justice and democracy in the Philippines.

“Although I’m so far away, I know that the conditions of survival alone remain brutal for the majority of people in the Philippines. It is important that, as Filipinos abroad, we do not forget about our country,” Cabayan said.

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