By Dulce Amor Rodriguez

MANILA — Progressive labor, youth, and people’s organizations staged a protest at Mendiola on November 14 as part of the National Day of Action Against Corruption. Organizers framed the event as a prelude to a nationwide mobilization on Bonifacio Day, November 30, called “Baha sa Luneta 2.0.”

Speakers accused the administration of shielding high-level plunderers while ordinary families bear the brunt of corruption. Organizers said the protest aimed to keep pressure on state agencies and lawmakers ahead of the larger mobilization demanding concrete investigations, prosecutions, and the return of stolen public funds.

Jacq Ruiz, spokesperson of Kilusang Manggagawang Kababaihan, highlighted the human cost of corruption: 13.7 million families now live in poverty and 4.5 million families reported going hungry because state funds intended for social services were lost to graft.

“For women workers who already experience unequal treatment inside the factories, things only get worse once we step outside,” Ruiz said. “Electricity and water rates keep rising, and the price of gasoline goes up every single week.” She linked runaway prices and inadequate public services to government mismanagement.

Santi Dasmariñas, president of Courage, a federation of government employees unions, contrasted lavish spending on infrastructure with the lack of support for workers. “Why do the poor get jailed for petty survival crimes while the masterminds of large-scale plunder roam free?” he asked, highlighting the inequality of enforcement.

Migrante Philippines warned that corruption and privatization hurt Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW). Emer De Liña said that the privatization of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) threatens tens of thousands of OFWs through rising fees. “Instead of leaving that money to our loved ones, it is being spent on the skyrocketing prices of goods,” she said, calling for investigations into missing Department of Transportation (DOTr) funds and rushed public-private partnership deals.

Eufemia ‘Mimi’ Doringo of urban poor group Kadamay emphasized the protest’s symbolic language: participants wore red scarves to signify continued resistance and insistence on accountability. Doringo urged sustained pressure until full justice is achieved for victims of corruption.

Anakbayan’s Mhing Gomez criticized the administration for diverting funds to military buildup and projects that do not serve poor communities. “The BBM administration is freely hosting foreign troops—soldiers from the United States, Australia, and Japan—without asking for anything in return, while so many Filipinos have no homes and so many young people cannot go to school,” Gomez said.

Jerome Adonis of Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) connected the day’s message to top officials’ accountability, citing a public statement by former lawmaker Zaldy Co. Co claimed he was made a “poster boy” to cover deeper abuses and implicated high-ranking officials in budget insertions.

In a video statement, Co said he was used as a scapegoat and instructed to insert large sums into various projects. Organizers said his revelation proves that investigations must go beyond low-level actors and named contractors.

The National Day of Action concluded with a call to escalate pressure, with organizers outlining a calendar of actions culminating on November 30, Bonifacio Day. They expect a larger turnout and coordinated actions across multiple regions, pressing for legislative and prosecutorial follow-through and a people’s audit of controversial projects. (RTS, RVO)

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