Enzo Manzano, the son of actor Edu Manzano, was spotted holding a protest on his own in New York City to speak out against the Philippine government.
Facebook: Enzo Manzano
On Facebook, Enzo shared photos of himself holding up placards as he revealed that he had been standing in front of the United Nations headquarters for three hours. “It took me three days to decide I was actually going to do this. How did I arrive at this decision?” he wrote. “I realized lengthy Facebook posts don’t do the trick… ALSO it only makes me more angry whenever news of our government comes out in the Philippines. The feeling of being useless doesn’t help either – whether it’s because I’m in New York or the government keeps coming up with ways to silence us back home.”
“I was never the type to protest but at this point with all that the Philippine government is doing, it’s either you’re fighting to keep your country alive or not,” he continued. “Sucks to hear that my fellow Filipinos can’t protest back home.. I hope my lone protest can make up for that. At least a little bit!”
The placard he held on his photo read, “Duterte & the Philippine gov’t are taking away my people’s basic rights! Filipinos can’t protest so I hope the world can see us instead.”
A few days later, Enzo held another solo protest, this time in front of the Consulate General of the Philippines.
He thanked all those who voiced out their support for his activism but clarified that he wasn’t doing it for himself but for his fellowmen back at home. “I am doing this for each and every one of you. It hurts to be away from our country and to see this happen. Things have dramatically changed since I’ve left and it’s only been 2 1/2 years so far,” he said.
“I can’t stand the thought of what our home is turning into. There are multiple efforts to silence and scare you, but I hope we can make my protests loud enough for the world to see and hear!” he added.
He also held up new placards—one that read “The Philippine government is destroying my country’s democracy! Hear us now (before it’s too late),” and another that said, “To Filipinos overseas: we may have left our country… but let’s not abandon our people.”
These protests come in light of the controversial Anti-Terrorism Bill which many Filipino citizens have criticized for its alleged infringement on human rights and freedom of speech.
(ALSO READ: IN PHOTOS: Protests from today, Independence Day 2020)
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