By CHARIS MAE RIVERA
Bulatlat
MANILA- Students from different schools and levels gathered today, July 18, at St. Scholastica’s College-Manila (SSC) to denounce drug-related extrajudicial killings under President Duterte, as an advanced counterpoint to the State of the Nation Address (SONA) he will deliver on July 24.
Among those at the gathering were the Millennials Against Dictators (MAD), Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP), and other campus and community-based youth groups. They referred to the President’s would-be speech as “Fake News SONA.”
The event started with an interfaith prayer and a minute of silence, as they paid respects for the victims of extrajudicial killings and Duterte’s anti-drug program, Oplan Tokhang. As reported by the Philippine National Police (PNP), there are more than 12,000 reported cases of homicide and at least 7,000 cases of deaths related to Duterte’s War on Drugs.
Among the kulasa — the popular term for SSC students – present was Shibby de Guzman, a 13-year old whose video went viral on social media, as she spoke holding a megaphone during the noise barrage in front of SSC last year against the burial of the ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani. She gained praise for her stance, but also received hateful comments in social media. She is also known for speaking out against extrajudicial killings.
Shibby’s popularity may be compared the Mocking jay in the famous novel, “Hunger Games,” as she became the center of the event, with her classmates and students from other schools shouting her name and showing their support for their fellow youth as she spoke about the injustices of the President’s war on drugs.
“A lot of people have asked how many we will be here today, the answer: we are more than enough to stand against our misogynistic, power-abusive administration,” she said.
She also said that the youth need to continue the fight of the older generation. The millennials are called to raise awareness on issues such as poverty and corruption and take a stand against an emerging dictatorship.
Lea Calana spoke about her cousin, Jomar, who was victim of the drug-related killings. She said Jomar was on the way home from work when he was abducted. They later recovered his bloodied body in Quezon City.
“The number of people that the ‘Dutertador’ has killed, is the same number of family that are mourning,” she said. She also said that there are only a few of them who can speak up, but she believes that the fear will be erased if the youth will start the fight.
The crowd chanted “Dutertador,” which is the combination of the President’s last name and “diktador” (dictator), which fueled the excitement and agitation of the crowd.
After the program, the crowd together with the student leaders marched to Leon Guinto street singing a song from the musical Les Miserables. Kulasas occupied the street with their signs, singing:
“Do you hear the people sing?
Singing the song of angry men?
It is the music of the people who will not be slaves again!”
Aside from the chanting and speeches, there was also a cultural performance from Tres Marias that hyped up the crowd during the cultural picket. The crowd sang along as they performed a cover of “Tatsulok” and closed with the protest song “Bayan Ko.” 
Tsk!! Mindless students.