19%

In the summer of 2025, President Trump and President Bongbong Marcos came to an agreement that imposed a 19% tariff on Philippine products entering the United States. Meanwhile, there was no tariff implemented on American imports entering the Philippines. Despite the blatant inequality in this economic agreement, Marcos boasted this as a win, stating that he was able to “negotiate” down from the intial 20% tariff. This came as a major blow to the Philippine people who are already forced to export their products to just barely support their families. This is especially concerning for the most vulnerable, exploited class in Philippine society: our peasants and farmworkers in the countryside.

The peasant class of the Philippine country are subjected to the brunt of economic exploitation. Some of the Philippine’s most valued exports are fishing and agricultural products such as tuna, mangoes, coconuts, and pineapple. Therein lies the problem: these items are seen as products, merely goods for trade. Rather than being able to reap the fruits of their labor, farmworkers and fisherfolk are forced by their conditions to export a majority of what they produce to support their families. Unequal economic treaties have made the Philippines an import-dependent, export-oriented country: for many, it is a cheaper alternative to export what they produce and import what they need. We see this in crops such as rice–80% of which is imported from elsewhere despite it growing abundantly in the Philippines. This 19% tariff is just one more step to ensure that the Philippines is under the thumb of American imperialism, preventing us from becoming truly independent, truly liberated.

This forced reliance on supposed “ally” countries has deregulated the Philippine markets and put it under the whim of imperialist rulers, and the ones who suffer most are the people. We see it in other industries such as the energy sector. In the midst of warfare in West Asia, the people are seeing exorbitant surges in fuel prices, which has catastrophically impacted the livlihoods of not just our transport workers but our farmworkers as well. The people are forced to pay for these wars abroad that they did not sign up for, that should not involve them, all in the name of the ruling class’ pursuit of profit and plunder. The government continues to exploit the people, gearing the system to profit themselves rather than consider the needs of the kababayan. Where the government fails us, we must unite and organize. Only through this solidarity will we truly be free. Huwag Matakot!

2026, linocut on newsprint, 16×20″