SINCE assuming office, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has failed to address the chronic crisis in the education sector. Despite boasting of the so-called historic ₱1 trillion allocation for education, this has yet to translate into meaningful improvements for students.
Schools and universities continue to suffer from a severe lack of classrooms, facilities, learning resources, and teaching personnel. The Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM II) estimates that the country faces a shortage of around 165,000 classrooms, forcing many schools to implement shifting schedules and overcrowded classrooms.
Meanwhile, learning poverty remains alarmingly high, with the World Bank estimating that around 90% of Filipino 10-year-olds are unable to read and understand an age-appropriate text, reflecting the depth of the country’s learning crisis. Student support services also remain critically inadequate.
EDCOM II data also showed that 87% of Grade 11 students cannot understand what they read, with many crammed subjects preventing students from mastering foundational core competencies, coupled with acute shortages of classrooms, updated textbooks, and appropriate teaching equipment, which underscores the failure of K-12 education.
The tragic Tacloban shooting exposed the government’s failure to provide sufficient psychosocial support for learners, with only about one guidance counselor for every 14,000 students, leaving thousands of students without adequate mental health and guidance services.
Student leaders and activists likewise continue to face persecution under the Marcos administration. Cases of red-tagging, surveillance, intimidation, and harassment persist despite repeated calls from human rights organizations to end these practices.
During the recent State of the Youth Address in Panay, an individual was even caught conducting surveillance on attendees. Four years into the Marcos presidency, the reality remains clear: the rights, welfare, and democratic freedoms of students and the youth continue to be neglected and attacked.
As Commander-in-Chief, Marcos Jr. has blessed and lauded military operations that have displaced communities and claimed the lives of innocent civilians. Human rights organizations continue to document cases of bombings, forced evacuations, arbitrary arrests, and killings in rural communities under the government’s counterinsurgency campaign.
Let us never forget the brutal massacre perpetrated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines that claimed the lives of fellow student leaders Allysa Alano, Maureen, RJ, Lyle, Kai, Errol, and others, including a farm worker and a minor. Under his watch, the AFP and the PNP have continued to sow fear and violence in communities while those who speak out for justice are treated as enemies of the state.
The recent State of the Nation Address (SONA) also marked one year since Marcos Jr.’s much-publicized “exposé” of alleged massive corruption in government. Yet despite his promises, the so-called “big fish” remain free. Instead, he has used the issue to project himself as an anti-corruption champion while maneuvering to distance his own family from long-standing cases involving ill-gotten wealth and plunder.
Since last year’s SONA, even more evidence of large-scale corruption has come to light, with controversies involving confidential funds, anomalous flood control projects, and questionable public spending reinforcing the people’s growing distrust in government. While Marcos Jr. now seeks to distance himself from Sara Duterte and other disgraced political allies, the fact remains that, as head of the Executive, he approved and signed the corruption-ridden national budget.
This year’s SONA also came at an unprecedented moment as the Vice President faces trial over allegations of corruption and plunder. While the nation watches the proceedings unfold in the Senate, we cannot afford to remain mere spectators. Accountability must never be selective.
Since last year, mounting evidence has implicated not only the Vice President but also the President and other high-ranking officials in controversies involving public funds. The Constitution guarantees that public office is a public trust, and that principle must apply equally to all. Lahat ng sangkot, dapat managot!
Time and again, this government has failed the Filipino people. Inflation continues to burden ordinary families, wages remain insufficient to keep up with the rising cost of living, and millions continue to face unemployment, underemployment, and precarious work. While ordinary Filipinos remain in hunger, public funds continue to be lost to corruption, political patronage, and projects that fail to address the people’s most urgent needs. The youth are robbed of opportunities, while our rights and welfare continue to be disregarded.
Let us draw inspiration from the lessons of the EDSA People Power uprisings and other people’s movements in which the students united with broader Filipino people for justice and accountability. In 1986, millions of Filipinos united to overthrow the Marcos Sr. dictatorship. In 2001, a broad-based people’s movement forced President Joseph Estrada from office amid widespread outrage over corruption and betrayal of public trust.
These historic victories remind us that genuine political change has never been handed down from those in power, it has always been won through the collective action of ordinary Filipinos. History teaches us that sovereignty ultimately rests with the people, and that when citizens unite in defense of democracy and accountability, no leader is beyond the reach of the people’s will.
That is why we call on our fellow student leaders and all Panayanons to stand together for accountability, justice, and democracy. Let us amplify the people’s demands for greater public investment in education, genuine accountability, the protection of democratic rights, national sovereignty, environmental justice, and a government that serves the people and not political dynasties, big business interests, or foreign powers.
Only through our collective action can we achieve genuine and lasting change in our society./PN
