The protest was part of the ongoing Pambansang Lakbayan ng mga Pambansang Minorya (National Caravan of National Minorities) that saw 3,000 indigenous peoples come to the Philippines' capital to draw attention to human rights abuses and the militarization of their ancestral lands. The national minorities are demanding the pull-out of military troops from their communities and the dismantling of state-sponsored paramilitary groups.