Over 2,000 Negrense protesters marched through the streets of Bacolod City on Sunday, September 21, to join the nationwide ‘One Trillion Peso March,’ a coordinated action that demanded accountability for the alleged large-scale corruption in the country’s flood control and infrastructure projects.
St. Scholastica’s Academy Directress Sister Ma. Ezechiel Fernandez urged the youth to keep fighting corruption until they recover the stolen public funds and send those responsible to jail.
The protest also marked the 53rd anniversary of Martial Law, a date long tied to calls for justice and accountability.
Fernandez recalled how corruption had plagued the country since her childhood and stressed that the situation has only worsened through the years.
“Mga Kabataan, kayo ang pag-asa ng bayan. No one can solve this except through a united mobilization, so corruption will end. Jail corrupt officials, and return the nation’s stolen money,” she said.
Some protesters warned that they would launch a “tax revolt” if the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) failed to hold corrupt officials accountable.
Transport leader Rudy Catedral backed the warning, saying corruption has become unbearable for ordinary Filipinos.
Bacolod City Police Operations Officer Major Joery Puerto said the rally remained peaceful with no untoward incidents, as security forces estimated the crowd at around 2,500 participants.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Advocates Negros (HRAN) accused security forces of attempting to harass members of the September 21 Movement delegation as they traveled to Bacolod early in the morning to join the nationwide rally.
The protesters were composed of members from environmental groups, the academe, the LGBTQIA community, and other advocacy organizations, while those who did not attend showed their support online.*
Reymund Titong is a Filipino journalist steadily building his voice in the field of news reporting, driven by a commitment to tell meaningful and relevant stories.
He serves as a correspondent for Rappler, maintains a personal blog on Medium, and is the communications officer of Hope Builders Organization Negros Island.