21/09/2025
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ | Samar youth lead march vs corruption
CATBALOGAN CITY, Samar โ Students, and youth leaders staged a solidarity march to join the September 21 nationwide protests against corruption in government flood control projects.
The event, coinciding with the 53rd anniversary of Martial Law, highlighted a walk from the Samar Convention Center to the Seaside, where attendees signed a youth covenant against corruption.
Under intermittent showers, marchers from Catbalogan and Paranas, Samar, carried placards and chanted slogans demanding the jailing of corrupt officials.
๐ช๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ก๐ฎ ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐
Members of the WarayNa Movement led the call, declaring that "the youth of Samar are speaking out against the plague of systemic corruption."
In an interview with The Tradesman, WarayNa focal person Michael Shan Parrocho said the group, established earlier this month, is a local network of anti-corruption advocates.
"This is just the start. Again, our purpose is for the local government and the national government to sign a covenant with us. Diri ini nga corruption mauundang kun kita la an magyiyinakan. We need our leaders to take action and clean themselves," he said.
"This movement is not only for us but para han kabataan. That's the reason why when we do meetings and planning, we include them," Parrocho said, stressing that while they already have youth volunteers, many still struggle to speak out.
He added that they are inviting schools and more students to join the cause.
The focal person further clarified, "We don't have any government affiliations, but although some of our members are government officials and leaders, as much as possible we don't want to use them as a front because this is not a political move โ this is a call for reform." with government officials also visibly present alongside WarayNa during the march.
๐๐ต๐๐ฟ๐ฐ๐ต-๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐๐
In response to the nationwide call of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for prayer rallies, Most Rev. Isabelo Abarquez, D.D., Bishop of Calbayog, urged the faithful to join the local solidarity march and also encouraged the public to show support by wearing a white ribbon.
"As your servant leader of the Diocese of Calbayog, I am supporting its call, loud and clear, for the sake of our country. So I am enjoining you all to come and join this March and Rally..." read the official statement posted Friday on the Calbayog Chancery page.
A Mass was held at the Samar Convention Center before the solidarity march, presided over by Bishop Abarquez, focusing on prayer intentions for meaningful instructional reforms and the eradication of systemic corruption in the Philippines.
According to WarayNa, through direct coordination with the bishop, protest participants were permitted to attend the Mass, which coincided with the closing Mass of the Vicariate Youth Day (VYD) hosted by the Parish of St. Bartholomew the Apostle.
Organizers, however, clarified that while the majority of attendees at the joint Mass were VYD delegates, their presence should not be mistaken as participation in the solidarity march that followed.
๐ฌ๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ
Students and young leaders from Samar State University, Samar College, Catbalogan City Community College, and Wright National High School took to the streets, expressing indignation over alleged anomalous government projects and chanting slogans against corruption.
During the march, the attendees repeatedly chanted "Ikulong na 'yan, mga kurakot!" a rendition of the University of the Philippines cheer to denounce corruption in government.
"Corruption weakens democracy, it feeds inequality. It destroys trust. And worst of all, it makes people believe that nothing will ever change. But we, the youth, are here to say otherwise," a youth leader voiced on stage, drawing a loud ovation from attendees who cheered in support.
"I've been told many times, 'Bata ka pa, waray ka pa maiintindihan ha pulitika. Diri ka pa ngani nabotos.' But here I am, standing before you today, proving that age does not define courage, and the fight for good governance has no minimum age requirement," he said.
The protest also featured a performance by a local artist, who sang self-composed anti-corruption songs, along with renditions of Gloc-9's iconic "Upuan."
๐ญ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ผ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐
Meanwhile, Catbalogan City Police confirmed that the program concluded without any untoward incidents, saying, "It is in order."
Police deployed in the area roughly estimated that there were fewer than 100 attendees during the march, but the number tripled during the program.
The event concluded past 6 p.m., lasting less than two hours.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ
The solidarity march was part of a wave of similar demonstrations staged across the country on Friday, amid widespread anger over irregularities by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in flood control infrastructure projects.
Recently, the Department of Finance revealed that non-existent works drained the economy of โฑ42.3 billion to โฑ118.5 billion in the past two years, while the Ombudsman reported that corruption accounted for the loss of 20 percent of government resources annually.
Earlier major protests were held at Luneta and the People Power Monument in Metro Manila, dubbed the "Baha sa Luneta" protest and the "Trillion Peso March," respectively.
via ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ง | The Tradesman
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