Progressive groups launched consecutive pickets and demonstrations against the Marcos regime and contractors involved in corruption and anomalies in flood control projects and other infrastructure. The actions were held on September 4 and September 5, led by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and its allied organizations.
On September 4, the People Surge National Alliance of Disaster Survivors and Victims and the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment stormed and staged noise protests at the Pasig City office of St. Gerrard Construction, owned by the Discayas, one of the contractors implicated in corruption, especially in substandard flood control projects. They hurled mud at the company’s logo and gate as a symbolic act of outrage.
According to the groups, the Discayas bear heavy responsibility for plundering billions of public funds while millions of Filipinos sink in floods during storms. The family controls not only St. Gerrard but also eight other construction companies.
These include Alpha and Omega Construction, St. Timothy Construction, Elite General Contractor and Development Corporation, St. Matthew General Contractor & Development, Great Pacific Builders and General Contractor, YPR General Contractor and Construction Supply, Amethyst Horizon Builders and General Contractor & Development Corp., and Way Maker OPC. Research by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) reveals that these nine companies clinched 421 government projects worth ₱31 billion.
From 2022 to 2025, the former Duterte regime and now the Marcos regime allocated ₱680.2 billion for flood control projects. “Instead of protecting communities, these projects only enriched politicians and favored contractors like the Discayas while millions of Filipinos remain submerged in disasters and negligence,” declared People Surge and Kalikasan.
For 2026, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Marcos regime kept the same fund allocation for flood control, which the groups were certain would again drain into bureaucrat-capitalists’ pockets. On September 4, youth groups led by Anakbayan held a protest at the DPWH national office in Manila.
Anakbayan dubbed the DPWH as the “Department na Puro Walang Hiya” (Department of Pure Shamelessness). They pelted rotten vegetables at the department’s gate to express their condemnation.
The group denounced the theatrics and whitewashing by the DPWH and Ferdinand Marcos Jr amid exposed anomalies. “Here we go again, whenever corruption is exposed, snakes grab heroic roles. Marcos Jr, Sara Duterte, the Senate, and Congress are staging another wash-hands school of acting,” Anakbayan chairperson Mhing Gomez said.
Gomez added that it is impossible Marcos had no knowledge of these projects. “Investigations led by people like Jinggoy, Bato, Go, and Marcoleta are ridiculous as they themselves are protectors and thieves,” Gomez said.
Gomez said “no matter how many cases of plunder of public funds arise, no one gets held accountable. Thieves assume power instead of being punished.” He said the youth and the people clearly can expect nothing from this government, which she described as the “biggest syndicate looting the nation’s coffers.”
On the same day, KYUSI 4 Truth and Accountability staged a protest in Quezon City, while Bayan-National Capital Region and ONE Taft demonstrated in Pedro Gil to denounce the Marcos regime’s corruption. Women led by the Gabriela Women’s Party also protested in Marikina City.
On September 5, groups gathered at the House of Representatives in Quezon City to bang noise-making instruments and condemn the DPWH and Marcos. They staged the protest during the department’s budget hearing. Bayan-Central Visayas also led a protest at the DPWH Region 7 office in Cebu City.
Bayan-Central Luzon held a protest in San Fernando, Pampanga on September 1.
Bayan and allied groups announced that they would continue staging protests and demonstrations in the coming days to sustain their condemnation of the Marcos regime over rampant corruption.
