Filipino diaspora activists staged protests outside of the White House each day of Filipino President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s visit with US President Donald Trump.

Marcos Jr. arrived in Washington, DC on July 20. On the final day of Marcos’ visit on July 22, Trump announced a framework agreement setting tariffs on Philippine exports to the U.S. at 19%, which is a reduction from the 20% tariffs Trump had originally threatened, while US goods would enter the Philippines tariff-free.

“As long as the Philippine economy remains based on meeting US economic and geopolitical interests and not on the long-term economic security of the Filipino people, millions more of our people will continue to be forced to migrate abroad, to risk working undocumented, just to feed their families,” said Andan Bonifacio, Chair of BAYAN USA, the US chapter of Filipino national democratic movement organization Bayan. “These are our ‘bagong bayani’ [modern-day heroes] that Marcos has tossed aside and left to live in fear or in detention centers. Marcos: stand up for our economy and stand up for our people.”

Activists also denounced other Trump administration economic policies that they argue could severely harm Filipinos. Jom Dolor, Deputy Secretary General of Migrante USA, an alliance of Filipino migrant and worker groups, slammed Trump’s“Big Beautiful Bill” for including a 1% excise tax on cash remittances sent abroad.

“Even a 1% tax on non-citizens adds up over time,” Dolor warned, “and it opens the door to surveillance under the guise of citizenship verification.” In 2024 alone, Overseas Filipino Workers sent a record-breaking $34.3 billion back to the Philippines.

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