ILOILO City – Anger over alleged trillion-peso corruption in flood control and infrastructure projects spilled into the streets yesterday as thousands of Ilonggos joined the “Trillion Peso March”, transforming the annual martial law commemoration into a fiery demand for accountability.
Two simultaneous marches — one from Jaro Plaza and another from the University of the Philippines Visayas — converged at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol at 3 p.m., with protesters chanting and carrying placards denouncing what they called the “trillion-peso robbery.”
The chants were fierce, but the discipline of the demonstrators kept the massive rally orderly.
Police Colonel Kim Legada, director of the Iloilo City Police Office, said the event ended without trouble.
“As of press time, there were no untoward incidents. The protest was peaceful and calm,” Legada said.
He lauded the demonstrators’ conduct: “The Ilonggos were obedient, behaved, and respectful — that’s why the rally was orderly.”
Legada pegged the crowd at around 2,500 at the capitol.
The Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (ICDRRMO), however, counted far more — between 10,000 to 15,000 as of 4:02 p.m.
Traffic snarled roads surrounding the capitol but rerouting schemes kept the situation manageable.
Legada also extended thanks to other agencies that helped ensure security and smooth traffic.
“I thank everyone who participated in the protest for cooperating and following our guidelines,” he said. “Thanks also to TTMO, CDRRMO, and other agencies for helping us in implementing security and traffic management.”
The peaceful Iloilo rally mirrored protest actions across major cities nationwide. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself conceded the public’s outrage earlier last week.
“Since this has all been exposed… do you blame them for going out into the streets?” Marcos said. “If I wasn’t president, I might be out in the streets with them. So, of course, they are enraged. Of course, they are angry. I am angry. We should all be angry. Because what’s happening is not right.”/PN
