Activists within the People’s Rising for Climate Justice Philippines (PRCJ-PH) network staged a protest at the Mendiola Peace Arch on Wednesday, November 8, 2023, marking the somber 10th anniversary of the devastating landfall of Super Typhoon Yolanda.
Among the demonstrators were survivors of Typhoon Yolanda, who passionately demanded justice for the typhoon’s victims and the countless others affected by recent climate change-induced disasters.
They emphasized the role of “criminal negligence” by the Philippine government in exacerbating the damage caused by Typhoon Yolanda 10 years ago and subsequent extreme weather events.
Internationally known as Typhoon Haiyan, this super typhoon struck the Philippines in 2013, claiming the lives of 6,300 individuals across the nation. Yolanda remains one of the deadliest and most powerful tropical cyclones ever recorded.
Photographs of the gathering captured protesters raising banners to underscore their concerns, and some participants even lay on pavements, covered in mud (as did the real victims in the aftermath of the devastating typhoon), symbolizing the urgency and gravity of their message.
(Report and photography by Benjamin Cuaresma/ai/mnm)