Various patriotic groups held a lightning rally in front of the Chinese Embassy in Makati City on December 16, 2025, to protest the use of water cannons by the Chinese Coast Guard against Filipino fishermen around Escoda Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. The FDNY Movement, ALAB, and Alyansa Bantay Kapayapaan at Demokrasya (ABKD) led the protest, which included symbolic actions such as destroying an effigy of a Chinese Coast Guard ship, tearing down a cardboard Chinese flag, and a die-in protest to show the danger to the lives and livelihoods of the fishermen. The groups asserted that the incident was a violation of human rights and international maritime law and emphasized that Escoda Shoal is within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone. They called on the government and the international community to defend the country’s sovereignty and protect Filipino fishermen. BONG SON
