Hundreds of National Capital Region (NCR) residents, mainly from the ranks of workers and the urban poor, joined and marched through the streets in the national capital for the Lakbayan ng Mamamayan Kontra Korapsyon (People’s March Against Corruption) on November 7. From various NCR cities, groups gathered at Liwasang Bonifacio in the afternoon and marched together to Mendiola in the evening to hold the Marcos regime accountable for rampant corruption.
Local programs were held in Intramuros, Recto, Kalaw, Morayta and Taft Avenue in Manila; Monumento in Caloocan City; Welcome Rotonda in Quezon City; Marikina City; Buendia in Makati; and Alabang in Muntinlupa City before the gathering at Liwasang Bonifacio. Groups under the United People Against Corruption (UPAC) and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-NCR led the actions.
“The workers and the poor always bear the brunt of corruption-bred damages,” UPAC’s Bishop Bellaser Kiko Herrera said. He stated that while politicians plunder public funds, the poor drown in floods, lose their homes, and suffer their livelihoods’ destruction. “The Lakbayan is the people’s day of judgment against corruption,” the bishop added.
Aside from community participation, students from the University of the Philippines-Manila, Far Eastern University, University of the East, Technological University of the Philippines, National Teachers’ College, Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology (EARIST), Centro Escolar University, National University, Adamson University, Universidad de Manila, Bestlink College of the Philippines, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Mapua University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Muntinlupa and others also took part. Many of these universities had earlier joined the walkout movement against corruption that began in September.
The Lakbayan program featured street performances, cultural activities, songs, and dances that reflected the experiences of victims and survivors of disasters, workers, and ordinary citizens. “The Lakbayan unified the cries of the poor and the working class against a system that normalized corruption,” UPAC lead convener Dr. Malou Turalde said.
Black Friday Protest
Concurrent with the Lakbayan day, groups under the Kilusang Bayan Kontra Kurakot (KBKK, or People’s Movement Against Corruption) held Black Friday Protests in many NCR cities. The call to hold all those involved in corruption accountable, including the Marcoses and the Dutertes, resounded through these demonstrations.
People Surge, a group of disaster survivors, and other organizations under KBKK stormed and roused the Office of the Ombudsman in Quezon City. They demanded that the agency hold Ferdinand Marcos Jr accountable for his central role in rampant corruption in government infrastructure and flood control projects, and for permitting large-scale foreign mining that cause flooding.
In the evening, Bayan-led sectoral groups held a picket along Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City. They lit candles to call for justice for those who died and suffered from disasters, especially from the recent Typhoon Tino in the Visayas and Mindanao, particularly in the province of Cebu. The latest count recorded 224 deaths from flooding and 135 individuals still missing.
On Araneta Avenue in Quezon City, Pinagkaisang Lakas ng Mamamayan (United People’s Power) led a noise barrage. The protestors included urban poor residents from Barangay Tatalon, which frequently suffers from flooding.
Led by the Alliance of Health Workers, health workers from various hospitals in NCR also held noise barrages. They demanded accountability from those involved in corruption and called for wage increases, rights protection, and proper funding for the health sector.
Led by the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) NCR Union, Teachers from 212 schools in NCR also joined the day of action. They said that they had long demanded meaningful wage increases, adequate funding for education, and care for teachers, but instead, these were lost to corruption. They added that this protest was part of the preparation for ACT Philippines’ national “sit-down strike” on November 28.
In Laguna, workers and their unions from Wyeth Philippines, Yakult Philippines, Nexperia Philippines, and MEC Electronics Philippines once again participated in their regular Friday protest. The unions also called for higher wages and respect for their rights.
The Lakbayan and Black Friday Protest were activities preparing for the massive people’s protest against corruption to be held at Luneta Park and in other parts of the country on November 30. KBKK will lead this event with the call: “Hold all those involved accountable!”
