Youth-led protests aim to keep pressure on Marcos as corruption scandal drags on
MANILA, Philippines — Students across Metro Manila walked out of their campuses and marched to Mendiola on Friday, October 17, to air their fury as the government’s investigations into widespread anomalies in public works projects continue to drag on without major charges filed.
The protests, smaller but similarly coordinated as last month’s rallies, are a signal that the anger that drew tens of thousands to the streets on September 21 had not yet ebbed despite the Malacañang's calls for calm.
The coordinated campus walkouts spanned the University of the Philippines Diliman, University of Philippines Manila, University of Santo Tomas, Far Eastern University, Adamson University, schools along the university belt in Manila such as San Beda University, schools in Intramuros, including Mapúa University, Colegio de San Juan de Letran.
Also present were students from Taft schools, such as the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde, St. Scholastica’s College and Philippine Normal University.
The coordinated walkouts were organized under the banner of the National Day of Youth Action Against Corruption, a campaign organized by the UP Act Against Corruption Network and the National Union of Students of the Philippines.
The organizers said in a statement on Friday that the mass action was meant to “sustain public pressure” over unresolved irregularities in government infrastructure projects, particularly those under the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) flood control program.
In their joint manifesto, student leaders from the UP Act Against Corruption Network described the current controversy as “the gravest unresolved corruption scandal in recent history,” accusing the administration of using “violence, disinformation, and political theatrics" to divide the people and blunt public outrage.
“Gen Z Filipinos will not be pacified by PR stunts or token reforms meant only to preserve a rotten system,” the statement read. “Not a single contractor or government official has been held to account.”
Continuing outrage
The protests come nearly three months after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. bared that P100 billion worth of flood control projects — 20% of the total — were corned by just 15 contractors since 2022.
The revelations have since triggered Senate hearings and a separate probe by the newly formed ICI, but both inquiries have drawn backlash amid questions about whether it can take a real aim at the big names involved in the scandal.
The youth-led network is lamenting the fact that despite months of televised hearings and repeated assurances from the Palace, no major figure — whether from Congress, the contractor networks, or the Cabinet — has been held to account.
“The Senate hearings have stalled, the so-called Independent Commission for Infrastructure operates in secrecy, and those in power seek to distract, delay, and silence us,” the manifesto read. “Marcos Jr., architect and greatest beneficiary of the very system we condemn, continues to evade accountability.”
Friday’s demonstrations, they said, were meant to “make clear that the persistence of corruption lies in the ineptitude and complicity of Malacañang itself.”
"The two highest officials of the land--the President and the Vice President embody the most powerful corrupt dynasties in the country, and to resolve this crisis, they too must be held accountable, if not removed altogether, for nothing will change while they remain in power," the network said.
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