By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
Between 30,000 and 50,000 Filipinos filled the streets in fury, rain-soaked and undeterred, even by the looming super typhoon Nando. And yet, that number, large as it seems, is only the visible portion of a monstrous majority of our people who are sick to their stomachs at the shameless corruption rotting this country, particularly the Department of Public Works and Highways, hand in hand with their cohorts in Congress. For two decades, the “power of the purse” has been corrupted, but under the last two administrations, it has gone from bad to worse, a machine of plunder disguised as governance.
The blame lies squarely with the government. However, let me point out — not to commend, only to acknowledge — that President Bongbong Marcos Jr. has admitted corruption under his watch. He has exposed it, deplored the failures, and created an Independent Commission on Infrastructure. More than that, he has installed a new DPWH secretary who, in just two weeks, has fired erring officials, filed charges, asked AMLC to freeze assets, and even testified in congressional inquiries. That is quick movement. But movement is not yet change. The question is: will this momentum survive the gravity of entrenched interests that have bled public works dry?
In the Senate, the Blue Ribbon Committee under Ping Lacson has been relentless in unmasking contractors, lawmakers, and the dirty money trail that once shielded itself under the previous Senate leadership. At least the Upper Chamber is clawing deeper than the House, which remains mired in its incestuous collusion between contractors and congressmen. Here is where the real war is being waged — not in speeches, but in exposing names, networks, and plunderers who thought they were untouchable.
But let us face the sharper dilemma: Do we want Marcos ousted? And if so, are we prepared for the consequence of succession? That means Sara Duterte in Malacañang — a leader who, unlike Marcos, refuses to even admit the misuse of hundreds of millions under her watch. She deflects, hides, and shields, while her family’s allies wait to be exonerated. Is that the replacement we want? Or is that just a convenient reset that buries accountability under the rug of political expediency?
Meanwhile, opportunists have found their perfect timing. Some ride on the angry voices of the people, not to cleanse this system but to advance their political, ideological, or self-preservation agendas.
Provocateurs who infiltrate the marches are less interested in accountability than in the collapse of a democratic government itself. Thieves and thugs creep in during chaos, smashing private establishments, torching property, and even attacking journalists whose only “crime” is reporting truthfully.
And then there are the old foxes of politics — like Chavit Singson — who are flatly rejected by the rallyists. I mean, the sheer irony of him demanding Marcos to step down when he himself fits perfectly into the groove of the most corrupt players in this DPWH scandal: the congressman who moonlights as a contractor, or the contractor who wears a congressman’s badge.
The fight against corruption has just begun. It is burning in the hearts of workers, small business owners, parishioners, and taxpayers who are done funding a government that disrespects our sweat and labor to make our country a better place. Let’s all hope this rally is only the opening salvo leading to institutional change.
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