Filipino rice farmers protested against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. amid surging rice prices in the country.

Footage shows farmers' groups slamming Marcos Jr. and his predecessor, drugs war madman Rodrigo Duterte, in a Valentine's Day protest in front of the Department of Agriculture in Metro Manila today.

They were denouncing the Rice Liberalization Law, implemented by Duterte in 2019, which removed import restrictions on rice. The law was envisioned to ensure a stable rice supply but harmed local farmers due to increased competition for the staple crop.

Marcos Jr. during his 2022 presidential campaign had vowed to lower rice prices to 20 PHP (around 0.3 GBP) per kilogramme, but has failed to make good on his promises.

The Department of Agriculture last week declared a food security emergency on rice to 'stabilise prices and ensure that rice remains accessible to consumers'.

Incumbent president Ferdinand Marcos Jr., known by his nickname 'Bongbong', is the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., whose decades-long reign was marked by cronyism, rampant corruption, and human rights abuses.

They allegedly plundered more than 10 billion USD from the state to fund a life of opulence - pushing the country into extreme poverty from which it has still not recovered.

Despite being run out of the country, the Marcos family, headed by matriarch Imelda Marcos who is known for her collection of 3,000 pairs of shoes, successfully returned through a well-oiled misinformation campaign on social media that convinced largely uneducated locals to vote for Bongbong.