TYPHOONS, floods and earthquakes continue to rock the Philippines, bringing more destruction, misery and poverty to farms, homes and communities.
Worse than these is the cancer of corruption eating at the heart and soul of the nation, inflicting similar suffering on millions of Filipinos.
The good news is that the tens of thousands who joined the anti-corruption protests at Rizal Park and the People Power Monument on Sept. 21 demanded accountability and an end to the criminal political cartels and dynasties that have plundered the Philippines’ coffers for decades.
Greenpeace says P1.089 trillion (about $18 billion) of the government’s climate-related expenditures have been robbed from ordinary Filipinos since 2023. The culture of political corruption and corporate greed has resulted in greater poverty. Income and social inequality in the country have grown worse.
The silence, intimidation and fear that grew during the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte has been broken by tens of thousands of people, young and old alike, who rallied on Sept. 21 to denounce the corrupt politicians and their public works contractors who masterminded the plundering of trillions of pesos in taxpayers’ money.
The “People’s Declaration for Climate Justice: End Corruption and Hold Polluters Accountable” is a protest movement that has awakened the moral conscience of many people and gathered civil society organizations and some outspoken progressive bishops to take to the streets to highlight the state of the manmade calamity afflicting the nation.
“Greenpeace is joining millions of Filipinos in voicing out their anger and disgust over systemic corruption and plunder of taxpayer’s money by government officials and contractors…” Greenpeace senior climate campaigner Virginia Benosa-Llorin said.
“Corruption and greed are undermining the ability of millions of Filipinos to survive in the face of climate change. Flood control project funds are climate adaptation funds — money meant to protect Filipino communities, but these are being plundered by corrupt government officials and contractors in the scale of hundreds of billions,” she added.
Before a huge crowd of protesters at Rizal Park, progressive Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of San Carlos called on the Catholic Church to be more involved in demanding justice and opposing evil, insisting that it must stand, “arm in arm with the people, alongside the young and old, united in the struggle for justice and true change.”
“To make our collective action truly effective, we must organize and engage in transformative actions. This is how we broaden our shared dream of social transformation,” he said.
A Church-based group, Church Leaders Council for National Transformation (CLCNT), led the rally at the EDSA Shrine and called on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to hold corrupt officials accountable.
The group believes these officials must be investigated, charged and stand trial for their alleged crimes. It demanded that justice be done and called for the total transparency of the wealth of all politicians and the enactment of legislation to control politically powerful families. (To be continued)/PN
