Shared by Joan Salvador (Gabriela –  OBR Southeast Asia coordinators/ OBR Philippines coordinators)

OBR Philippines 2021 will be organized amid the worsening health, economic, and political crisis. The risings in communities, offices, at home, workplaces will highlight the issues that women and their communities have faced and continue to face during the pandemic AND how they as individuals, community and/or collective rose from these crises by finding ways to creatively survive, assert for their rights, take care of themselves, their families, their communities, and build social solidarity.

With COVID-19 still raging, and with no clear plan from the national government on how to protect and ensure the people’s health, whether through mass testing or vaccination, large gatherings will be limited. This situation though motivates us to think of how we can participate through creative means and utilize all platforms for OBR.

It is also important to note that the OBR 2021 is an important platform to launch the International Women’s Day campaign to reach out, educate, organize, and mobilize the vast majority of women who have been severely affected by the pandemic—workers, peasants, youth, indigenous, migrants due to government’s neglect and incompetence.

Building and strengthening international solidarity will is also an important objective for OBR 2021 as the crises of neo-liberalism and capitalism exposed and worsened by the pandemic should be fought and brought down with a strong women’s movement fighting exploitation and oppression in all its forms.

1. February 7: 7am OBR in IVC communal garden, Marikina City
   OBR lead by Gabriela Quezon City and Kadamay (Urban Poor)
2. February 12: OBR Davao online event
   With OBR Davao multi sectoral task force group:
   (Lumad groups/ women’s groups/ human rights lawyers/ workers/ youth/ sex workers/ migrants/ Church groups/ Urban Poor/ academics)
3. February 14:
   9am OBR Dance protest at the Commission on Human Rights (Live outdoor dance/protest gathering)3pm Main rising, UP Diliman (Live outdoor dance/protest gathering):
   one of the highlights will be an exchange of seeds and/or seedlings among women/communities as symbol of solidarity, fighting for our rights, and taking care of Mother Earth.

   Cavite: Bulihan, Silang | Southville 2, General Trias
   Laguna: Southville 1, Cabuyao City | SM Calamba
   Rizal: Brgy. Dolores, Taytay
   Quezon: Online Program
   Batangas: Lipa City (TBA)

4. YOUTH RISINGS:
   Gabriela Youth has also launched a call for creative contributions to the campaign will be showcased online. They are also going to launch a tiktok campaign focusing on OBR 2021.Gabriela Youth’s call for their Artwork series  – is a call for young women to build their stronger selves and to be part of building movements, to transform into a more powerful force as young women to  demand justice and accountability for Mother Earth and women.

   St. Scholastica’s College are creating a video of their OBR initiatives of Youth planting, OBR dancing and OBR messages connecting women and the environment – and their call is “LET’S GREEN OUR SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES”.

5. Urban poor communities will also hold OBRs in their gardens in Manila, Quezon City, and Bulacan.
6. Task Force OBR Philippines members will create a dance video which will be put together, launch online and will also be shown during the main Rising in UP on February 14th