OVER 3,000 militants from Mindanao will take part in President Rodrigo Duterte's first State of the Nation Address (SONA), not to protest, but to express common desire to push for change.
Lumads, farmers, Moro, workers, and activists from Mindanao will join the SONA for the first time to support the first Mindanaoan President on Monday, July 25.
The indigenous people will march on the streets of Manila not to oppose the President but in hope that the Duterte administration will address their grievances and their desire for long lasting peace in Mindanao.
"President Duterte, let your fellow Mindanaoans march with you on your first SONA. Let this act be a symbol of our common desire to push genuine change and achieve a just peace for our people," Bai Ali Indayla, Manilakbayan spokesperson said.
Along with the Lumads, militant group Bagong Alyansa Makabayan (Bayan) will also march in Batasang Pambansa on Monday.
The militant group urged President Duterte to join their rally for change before he delivers his speech at the SONA.
"We extend a warm invitation to President Duterte to be with the people who will march during the historic SONA rally," Bayan said in a statement released Sunday.
The group invited Duterte to listen to the cry of the people who will gather outside the Batasan Pambansa Complex before the SONA. (Sunnex)