Progressive group Akbayan recently held a demonstration outside the Burgos Public Market in Bacolod City, where they protested the rising cost of goods. The group expressed their anger at the current situation at a time when poverty remains a problem in the country, citing a recent Social Weather Stations survey that found 12.2 million Filipino families consider themselves “poor.”

According to Akbayan-Bacolod Secretary-General Voltaire Jolito, “Walang awat ang pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin kaya’t walang tigil din ang paglobo ng bilang ng mga pamilyang gutom at naghihirap (Without an end to the rising prices on goods, there will also be no end to the rising number of families that are hungry and poor).”

The group went on to blame the ongoing poverty issue on neglect by the President Rodrigo Duterte administration, but said there are solutions to curbing the matter, taking note of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.

“Pagpapatigil sa TRAIN Law (Stop the TRAIN Law),” he stated.

The group is organizing nationwide as part of their #NasaanAngMalasakit campaign with events in Metro Manila, Cebu City, Zamboanga City, Dumaguete City, and the Bicol region./WDJ