BACOLOD City – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bacolod, the TAMA NA! Broad Alliance Against Corruption in Negros, and the One Negros Ecumenical Council (ONE-C) are calling on Filipinos to unite and march with them this Sunday, November 30—coinciding with the celebration of Bonifacio Day—to initiate what they describe as a “process of genuine transformation.”
The massive protest action in Bacolod City seeks to rally the public against corruption and support nationwide calls for accountability, authentic social justice, and people-centered governance. Organizers said the mobilization is an expression of solidarity with Filipinos across the country who have long demanded reforms.
During a press conference on November 27 at the Bishop’s House of the Diocese of Bacolod, former Negros Occidental governor Rafael Coscolluela, spokesperson of the TAMA NA! alliance, read the unity statement of the groups.
The statement stressed that bureaucratic corruption has for decades deprived Filipinos of essential public services. “The poor and powerless—those whom our faith compels us to serve—bear the brunt of this systemic ill while those in power further swell in wealth and might,” it read.
Organizers condemned corrupt officials who “have lost all sense of propriety and conscience,” engineering systemic abuses and crafting budgets that prioritize personal gain over public welfare. They added that these officials now act “without shame or remorse,” flaunting power and unexplained wealth while ordinary citizens suffer the consequences of misgovernance.
Despite numerous reports of ghost projects, failed programs, and billions in public funds misused or wasted, the groups lamented that high-profile investigations have yet to lead to convictions.
“It is with this concern that we, representing different sectors, churches, and civil society organizations, look upon the desperate state of our nation and declare our great abhorrence of the massive corruption that has engulfed our system of governance,” Coscolluela said.
The united groups are calling for thorough and impartial investigations into corruption-tainted government projects and public works. “We seek to resolve the very roots of this systemic ill and expose the extent to which it has siphoned resources from vital social services into the pockets of the corrupt,” Coscolluela added.
They also urged the government to swiftly hold accountable those found responsible. “It is not enough to expose anomalies—the law must take its course so we may rid our nation of the crooked ways of old,” the statement said.
Assembly areas for the march-rally include the Provincial Capitol Lagoon and South Capitol Road for northern delegations, and the Sacred Heart Seminary/Lupit Church along Lizares Street for southern delegations. Participants will converge at the replica of the Bacolod Public Plaza at 12:30 p.m./PN
