TENS of thousands of protesters gathered on Sunday at political hotspots in Metro Manila to rally against widespread government corruption, particularly the anomalous spending and implementation of flood control projects overseen by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The Quezon City Police District estimated the crowd at the People Power Monument at “more or less” 15,000 as of 4:45 pm, while the Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office reported about 49,000 protesters at Luneta Park at 10:45 am.
Representatives from Akbayan party-list—Jose Manuel Diokno, Percival Cendaña, Dadah Kiram Ismulah—and Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-ao joined the anti-corruption protests.
The lawmakers warned government officials that the Filipino people’s anger was nearing its boiling point.
“We can really feel the people’s wrath, and now, it’s nearing its boiling point,” Cendaña said in Filipino in an interview during the rally.
Cendaña blamed the “legacy” of corruption left by the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte, while also stressing that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “is not exempt from public scrutiny.”
“The people are now ready to demand accountability for the violence and corruption under the Duterte regime, as they also watch the administration of [President Ferdinand] Bongbong Marcos to see if he will stay true to his promise that people will be held accountable and jailed for plundering the public coffers,” he said.
Cendaña delivered a direct message to Marcos, also in Filipino: “Don’t think that you’re safe. You’re not safe because the people are watching to see if your promises will come to fruition. If no one is jailed and held accountable, you will face this anger.”
The Akbayan lawmakers marched alongside thousands of Filipinos in a demonstration organized by a coalition of groups, including the Simbahan at Komunidad Laban sa Katiwalian (SIKLAB), Akbayan Party, Tindig Pilipinas, ML Partylist, Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, Kalipunan, and Youth Against Kurakot (YAK). The morning mobilization saw more than 3,000 participants, culminating in the “Trillion-Peso March” in the afternoon, referring to the cost of the scandalous infrastructure projects.
“This is a warning and a promise to the Dutertes, especially impeached Vice President Sara Duterte, that their legacy of corruption, on top of their legacy of killings, will face their day of reckoning. Digong (Rodrigo) is already in jail. They’re next,” Cendaña said.
The lawmaker said the anti-corruption movement is a strong reminder to the administration of President Marcos Jr. that if he failed to hold everyone accountable for this scandal, including his closest allies, then he should not be surprised if the people’s full anger shifted towards him.
Cendaña also criticized Duterte supporters for attempting to co-opt the demonstrations to call for Marcos’ ouster, accusing them of trying “to hijack the people’s outrage and use it to return themselves to power,” since the vice president would benefit from the president’s removal.
“Who are they to dictate the course of the people’s mass movement? For what? To reinstate turn them to the highest position of power? Are they crazy?” he said.
He emphasized that the Filipino people will not be used as pawns in a dynastic tug-of-war.
“We are against all forms of corruption, whether they are attributed to the Dutertes or the Marcoses. Our tactical and strategic calls are grounded in political realities. Together with the people, we make our demands based on our own terms and the correct reading of the situation, not on the dictates of a rival dynasty seeking to replace another,” he stressed.
At Luneta Park, former Senator Leila De Lima told the crowd: “We’re so sick and tired to the bones of these officials who are turning into crocodiles and devils. Where are our lawmakers? They’re not here!”
De Lima noted that some factions wanted to use the people’s anger for their own selfish political interests, citing the violent protests in Indonesia and Nepal.
“But it doesn’t mean we’ll allow ourselves to be used by those who are trying to enter the picture and have their own agenda. They already stole from us, and now they want to hijack our principles. You can’t fool us!” she warned.
She then addressed the vice president directly: “You’re one of them, Sara Duterte! You think you got away with it? Even if the impeachment was covered up, we will never forget. Don’t pretend to be clean. You are also one of those who must be held accountable!”
Diokno said the people “must ensure that this betrayal of trust by corrupt officials and their cohorts are punished to the fullest extent of the law and that the billions of pesos they have stolen are fully recovered and returned to the people.”
For her part, Ismulah called for an investigation into the P51 billion in infrastructure projects that went to the district of Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, the vice president’s elder brother, under their father’s administration.
