By Zarelle Villanzana and Genno Rabaya
Dgte students, groups condemn corruption thru rallies
After more than three decades since the EDSA People Power, tens of thousands Filipinos once again flooded the streets to rally not only to remember the atrocities of a late dictator, but to protest against government corruption that has long plagued the nation.
Amid the Trillion Peso March on Sunday, Sept. 21, students, socio-civic groups, professionals, and other community sectors in Dumaguete City also expressed their rage over billions allegedly spent on bogus flood-control projects.
The small university town saw two peaceful rallies simultaneously staged. The group-formed “Barog Batok sa Korapsyon” and youth-led “Singgit Katilingban!” rally both demanded accountability from implicated government officials who are under probe for pocketing huge kickbacks in exchange for project contracts.
“Barog Negros Batok sa Korapsyon” (Stand Up, Negros [Oriental], Against Corruption), organized by the Team Hogwarts of Negros, held a motorcade from the municipality of Bacong and settled at the Freedom Park where over 100 members of different sectors magnified their grievances against the government.
“Wala na, suko na gyud ang mga tao,” said Jerome Nalam, an organizing member. “Kaning mga ga hearing, cover–up ra na sila. Hopefully, basin naay ma priso, basin lang. Pero wala, ulahi na kaayo. Nangawala na ang kwarta. Trillions of money, billions of money, wala na,” he said.
(It’s over, the people are already angry.) (These [senate] hearings, they are just cover-ups. Hopefully, someone will be imprisoned, just maybe. But it’s really over, it’s too late. The money is already lost. Trillions of money, billions of money, gone.)
The said group is a private entity in Negros Oriental who also supported the Pro-Duterte Grand Rally last May at the Pantawan People’s Park.
However, the organizing members clarified in a media conference last Sept. 16 that the said movement has a different purpose and is not backed by any politicians in the province.
Speaking to the crowd were representative members of the community: unions of food delivery riders, church members, fraternities, public vehicle drivers, and other private sectors.
A barangay councilor urged for avenues to support the next generation, a rider stressed how the healthcare, education, and infrastructure industries have broken down due to corruption, while a freedom prayer warrior pinned vote-buying as the root of corruption.
The rally ended with a reading of a unity statement by the participants and a manifesto against corruption.
Meanwhile, Singgit Katilingban! (Shout of the Community) enjoined over 350 rallyists clad in black to march by foot from Quezon Park to Pantawan 1, Rizal Boulevard.
It was organized by Kaya Natin Youth (KNY), in partnership with other organizations such as Dakila Dumaguete, Kabataan Partylist, Akbayan, and other university organizations.
Under Akbayan was Samahan ng Nagkakaisang Pamilyang Pantawid (SNPP), an association of parent-leaders and members of 4Ps (Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program).
“Kami silbe mo’y watchdog sa mga nabuhat na dili maayo sa gobyerno,” said Analiza Aranas, core president of the SNPP Dumaguete – Negros Oriental chapter..
“Labi na nga ang kasagaran na maapektuhan gyud sa mga budget cut, mga budget jud sa 4Ps. Muna nga dugay-dugay ang payout,” she continued.
(We’re basically the watchdogs to the wrongdoings of the government.) (Especially that 4Ps is the one mostly affected by the budget cuts. That’s why the payout is slow.)
Contrary to the rally held at the Freedom Park’s stage, representatives from different sectors echoed their grievances on a pickup truck.
A teacher compared the stark difference of their pay from government workers, multiple religious groups advocated to come together “regardless of belief or denomination,” and the youth, among other sectors, had their fair share of the spotlight.
Silliman University Student Government (SUSG) President Grylle Adrian Malala stood on the car’s roof as he expressed the importance of showing up beyond posts on social media.
“If you have the guts […] to ask people for a movement, then you’re better here right now. Because if you’re not, hantod raka istorya (you’re only full of words),” he stressed.
Malala also emphasized the importance of reaching out to the entire community without bias.
“Our posts, our shares, our likes make something. But those reach only our echo chambers. Those only reach the people that we add in our ‘friend list.’ […] And we need to be here for these people to see us fighting. We need to show up,” he expressed.
At the Pantawan, the participants lit and blew a candle and ended with a prayer.
“Ang korapsyon dili lang bahin sa nawala nga kwarta ug guba na proyekto. “Ang korapsyon mao ang katawhan, sa kaugmaon,” a representative from the Negros Elite Riders posed.
(Corruption is not only about lost money or failed projects.) (Corruption can be a person, [a robber] of the future.)
As Filipino citizens continue to fill the streets and march in rally, what happens next can only be written by them, where the nation’s power rightfully belongs.
