21/09/2025
๐๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐ | ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฃ๐ง๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐ข๐๐ฆ๐กโ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ง ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐๐, ๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐ฆ
The streets across the Philippines are filled with voices today, not because of a storm, but because of rageโrage at decades of corruption that has stolen not just money but lives, futures, and hope.
Tens of thousands of Filipinos marched nationwide in what is now called the Trillion Peso March to protest the โฑ1.47 trillion control scandal used for over 15 years. Lawmakers, government officials, and businessmen are accused of stealing massive amounts of money from projects intended to prevent flooding and protect lives. Instead of building dikes, drainage systems, and pumping stations, many projects were left unfinished, poorly built, or completely fake.
Police and soldiers were on high alert as protests ignited across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. In Metro Manila, huge crowds gathered at a historic park and near the EDSA People Power Monument, while cities like Iloilo saw their streets filled with protesters.
Authorities reported tens of thousands of participants nationwide, making this one of the largest anti-corruption protests in years.
The issue is more than just missing money. It exposes a system built on greed. All over the Philippines, ghost projects continue to exist: crumbling bridges and half-built roads. Billions are meant for education, transportation, healthcare, and agriculture, but much of it disappears before anything is completed. The result is deadly.
Corruption doesnโt just steal. It kills. Every stolen peso is a life stolen. Every abandoned project is a community betrayed.
For years, officials have claimed there is โno moneyโ for healthcare, education, agriculture, infrastructure, disaster preparedness, and other services. Yet billions vanish each year. If those funds had been used properly, the Philippines could be stronger and more thriving. Instead, ordinary citizens pay twice: first through taxes and again through their suffering.
The Trillion Peso March is not just about rage. It is also about hope. People from all walks of life are standing together to demand truth and accountability.
Their message is clear:
โWe are taxpayers, not your sponsors.
We will not be silent.
We will not be fooled.โ
This movement must not end. The future depends on whether Filipinos will allow corruption to keep destroying lives or rise together to hold the powerful accountable.
The Philippines now stands at a tipping point. Will corruption and neglect push the nation deeper into disaster as the climate crisis worsens, or will the people demand real change and protection for future generations? The answer must be actionโbold, urgent, and unitedโto fight both corruption and climate threats. It has to begin now, before itโs too late.
The real question is no longer if the people will fight back, but how loud, how strong, and how united they will be. The Trillion Peso March is only the beginning of a battle for the nationโs survivalโand it has only just begun.
Written by Babylyn Hisugan
Photo by Nicole Delos Santos
