On the evening of Friday, September 15, 2006, members of the Filipino/ American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity (FACES) and Women for Genuine Security (WGS) lay in symbolic protest around the Dewey statue in downtown San Francisco.

Gala King, FACES board chair, stated, “We lie here to demonstrate the victimization of women internationally and the disrespect for the Philippines propagated by current US foreign policy. We are in solidarity with Nicole, the victim of this atrocity, and the women of Philippine organizations working with her to seek justice for this crime.”

The silent protest was held in response to US Marines brutally raping Nicole, a 22-year-old Filipina woman, at the former Subic Naval Base in Olongapo, Philippines on November 1, 2005. Currently, the Marines face trial in the Philippines.

The Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the Philippines and the US allows the entry and mobilization of forces anywhere in the Philippines and limits trial duration. The US military presence as a result of the VFA undermines the sovereignty of the Philippines and has spawned many violations and injustices, such as violence against women. Read more and view photos