MONSIGNOR Meliton Oso, director of the Jaro Archdiocesan Social Action Center, has urged Ilonggos to join the nationwide action against corruption.
“The people must show courage, strength, and determination against corruption and the theft of our nation’s coffers,” he stressed.
His call underscores a crucial truth: change does not come from political elites who benefit from the system but from ordinary citizens who demand accountability.
Corruption in the Philippines has long been described as systemic—an affliction so deeply embedded in governance that many have grown accustomed to it. What makes this reality more painful is not just the repeated plunder of public funds, but the resignation of citizens who shrug it off as part of the political landscape. This tolerance, whether by silence or indifference, allows corruption to persist and worsen.
It is in this light that the “Trillion Peso March” on September 21 gains its urgency and significance. It is a call for collective defiance against a culture that robs the nation of progress. The date is no coincidence: it marks the anniversary of the 1972 declaration of Martial Law, a reminder of how unchecked power and corruption devastate lives and institutions. Today, the fight is not against dictatorship per se but against the pervasive plunder of taxpayers’ money.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and Archbishop Midyphil Billones of Jaro have also lent their voices, warning against the normalization of corruption that has “flooded and ravaged our nation.” Indeed, moral leadership must walk hand in hand with civic engagement. When faith leaders speak and the people respond, the call for reform becomes not just political but profoundly ethical.
For Ilonggos, joining the march goes beyond mere solidarity with Metro Manila. It is a declaration that Western Visayas will not remain silent while corruption diverts billions from critical needs — flood control, infrastructure, education, health. Every peso stolen translates to weaker classrooms, unfinished roads, and more vulnerable communities.
History has shown that collective action — when Filipinos gather with one voice — can shake the foundations of power. The “Trillion Peso March” is an opportunity to rekindle that spirit, to tell those in power that the people are watching, that the people will no longer tolerate being robbed blind.
Silence emboldens corruption; unity can defeat it. On September 21, may the voice of the people rise above apathy, for only through collective courage can this nation hope to break free from the chains of systemic corruption.
