BAYAN WATCH Movement

24/10/2025

We can sometimes overlook documents, especially when records are voluminous and being “surprised” doesn’t always mean something is new, but rather that it wasn’t widely known. However, to reduce this discussion into shallow political banter is unproductive.

The real question is this: Why did Ombudsman Martires grant Senator Villanueva’s motion for reconsideration when the 2016 Dismissal Order issued by Ombudsman Carpio-Morales was based on findings of the Sandiganbayan?

If that Dismissal Order had already attained finality, then any motion for reconsideration filed beyond the prescribed period would be procedurally void, or void ab initio in principle. In such a case, the later reversal would have been issued without proper jurisdiction. A serious concern that demands legal and ethical scrutiny.

This isn’t about being “surprised.” It’s about ensuring that every decision of the Ombudsman, past or present, upholds continuity, transparency, and accountability. Values that the office itself was created to protect.

𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐤𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐤𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐨 𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐨 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠!

Every decision of the Office of the Ombudsman is a public document. It is neither “secret” nor “surprising,” because due process demands publication, notice, and transparency.

So when Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla says he is not anymore delivering a letter to Senate President Tito Sotto calling for the enforcement of the the 2016 Dismissal Order against Senator Joel Villanueva, claiming he was “surprised” by a supposed “secret decision” reversing the order — we are left to ask: Is this really a surprise, or a symptom of inefficiency in your new office?

The Ombudsman’s duty is to know every active case, every final decision, and every motion resolved by his predecessors. Continuity of justice cannot be lost in the shuffle of leadership.

21/10/2025

Hindi namin maintindihan, bakit si Marcos ang sisisihin ngayon?

Hindi ba’t kayo mismo ang bumoto sa kanya? Kayo ang nagkampanya, nagsabing “kasalanan ng ama, hindi kasalanan ng anak.” Kayo rin ang nagsabing “wala namang kaso, walang napapatunayan.”

Ngayon na nanalo siya, gusto niyong paalisin para ipalit nyo ang gusto nyo at patakbuhin muli ang bansa sa kaguluhan? Hindi ba’t mas lalo lang lalala ang problema kung ganon?

Totoo, hindi perpekto si BMM. Pero malinaw na meron siyang ginagawang hakbang laban sa korupsyon. Noon, nakaraang admistraston, anim na taon tayong nakakita ng karahasan, mura, at takot, pero walang tunay na imbestigasyon, walang transparency, walang accountability.

Ngayon, may mga imbestigasyong isinasagawa, may mga tanong na tinutugunan. Hindi natin kailangang sumang-ayon sa lahat ng ginagawa ng gobyerno, pero dapat nating kilalanin ang mga hakbang tungo sa tama.

Tapos na ang eleksyon. Dapat tapos na rin ang pagiging panatiko. Ang katapatan natin ay hindi sa politiko, kundi sa bayan.

Ang tunay na pagmamahal sa bansa ay ang pagbabantay sa mga nasa kapangyarihan kung may transparency ba, kung may accountability ba, kung may direksyon ba para sa mamamayan. Hindi pwedeng magalit kapag tinatanong kung saan napupunta ang pera ng bayan.

At kung talagang gusto nating labanan ang korupsyon, simulan natin sa sistema.
Tingnan natin ang mga unprogrammed funds, bakit ba kailangan ‘yan, paano ginagamit, at paano ito nababantayan? Kung gusto nating masugpo ang korupsyon, dapat hirap silang gawin ito, hindi madali.

Itigil na ang sisihan. Itigil ang pagiging panatiko.
Magkaisa tayo para sa iisang layunin, isang gobyernong may transparency, accountability, at tunay na malasakit sa bayan.

19/10/2025

Let’s be clear, calling out corruption should never be political.

If we demand accountability from x= M, then we must hold y= S to the same standard. Corruption is not a partisan issue; it’s a national disease that affects every Filipino. Our loyalty should be to the country, not to any politician.

Political affiliations end after election day. From then on, every citizen has the duty to be a vigilant critic to question, to demand transparency, and to ensure that those we elect are truly serving the people.

Changing leaders alone will not end corruption. We must make corruption itself difficult to commit by reforming systems, abolishing shadow budgets like unprogrammed funds, and enforcing transparency across all levels of government.

Real change begins when we stop being fanatics and start being Filipinos first.

11/10/2025

The proposal to shift our national budget system to blockchain technology is a bold and visionary idea, one that could bring full transparency, traceability, and accountability to how public funds are spent.

But let’s be honest: if Congress cannot even make the ₱243 billion unprogrammed funds zero for the 2026 budget, how can we expect them to embrace a blockchain-based system where every peso is traceable?

It doesn’t add up. If we truly want to fight corruption, then let’s start with the basics, remove the loopholes that feed it. Unprogrammed funds have long been the shadow budget of corruption, hidden from public scrutiny and easily abused.

We cannot digitize integrity if we can’t even legislate it.

Make the unprogrammed funds ZERO.
That’s the first real step toward transparency.

10/10/2025

Unprogrammed funds have long been the shadow budget of corruption!

Tama na ang palusot! Tanggalin ang unprogrammed funds!

Kongreso, pakinggan n’yo ang taumbayan!

Kalampagin sa 3rd reading ng budget, hindi lang basta aprub nang aprub!

Ang pera ng bayan ay hindi para sa bulsa ng iilan.

Transparency. Accountability. Good Governance.

10/10/2025

When the House rejects a call to scrap unprogrammed funds, what message are they sending to the Filipino people?

Let’s be honest, unprogrammed funds have long been the shadow budget of corruption. These are funds that escape transparency, accountability, and often, even public understanding. They can be released at will, without the same level of scrutiny as the regular budget.

So why protect them? If our lawmakers truly stand for reform, transparency, and good governance, then removing this loophole should be the easiest decision to make. But instead, they choose to keep it and with that, they choose to keep the door open for misuse and abuse.

We cannot keep demanding change while protecting the very system that allows corruption to thrive.
The Filipino people deserve a government that spends with conscience, not convenience.

10/10/2025

Everyone wants a safer Philippines, that’s not up for debate. What’s at stake is how safety is achieved and at what moral cost.

Yes, strong leadership is needed. But in a democracy, strength must always be guided by the rule of law. The Constitution is not an obstacle to order, it is the foundation of it.

Excessive power that refuses checks and balance is very dangerous. It can be abused by anyone who chooses to take advantage of it. Imagine a police officer with a personal grudge, he could label someone as a “pusher” or “addict” and justify an ex*****on without trial. Without due process, how do we know who is truly guilty? This is not theoretical, we have seen this happen, and it normalized killing as if it were ordinary.

And despite all the lives sacrificed, the drug problem remains. Remember the promise? Three to six months. Years have passed, yet the problem persists. That proves one thing, violence is not a sustainable solution. It may silence people, but it doesn’t heal a nation. In the end, nothing changed except the number of innocent lives lost.

If we justify abuse today because it “worked,” what stops the next leader from using the same excuse against anyone else? Accountability doesn’t erase the good, it protects it from being tainted by excess and impunity.

Progress means learning from what went wrong, not romanticizing it. Justice is not weakness, and due process is not “moral paralysis.” Because when we allow fear to rewrite morality, we lose the very nation we claim to protect.

We stand for truth, transparency, accountability, and human dignity, all at the same time. That’s how we move forward as a nation, not backward into cycles of justification.

08/10/2025

So-Called “Conscience Call” to the AFP

The recent call made by the group Bangon Sambayanan urged the Armed Forces of the Philippines to withdraw support from the duly elected government.

Quoting the Constitution now to justify what sounds like an extra-constitutional move is both irresponsible and absurd, especially coming from those who were silent when our nation faced far worse circumstances under the previous administration. Where were these “calls of conscience” when human rights abuses, extrajudicial killings, and blatant corruption were rampant, and the rule of law was trampled upon?

The Constitution is not a tool of convenience to be invoked only when it serves one’s political agenda. It is a covenant that binds us to the principles of democracy, due process, and civilian supremacy over the military.

We urge our men and women in uniform to remain steadfast in their sworn duty to protect the Republic and uphold the Constitution, not the shifting winds of political noise.

True conscience is guided by integrity and truth, not by selective outrage.

Let us fix our institutions, not burn them down.

07/10/2025

Corruption should not define our government, but it will continue to do so unless those in power confront it fully and honestly.

Corruption isn’t confined to one department. It is deeply rooted in public works, in health, in agriculture, in customs, and in every layer of bureaucracy where accountability is weak. A few “wrongdoers” are not the problem; the problem is the system that protects them while punishing only the convenient few.

We acknowledge that many public servants still serve with integrity but integrity without protection is vulnerability. The honest are often silenced, while the corrupt are promoted.

If we truly want corruption not to define our government, then leadership must set the tone through transparency, decisive reforms, and the courage to let investigations reach wherever the evidence leads, even if it touches allies or powerful names.

Good governance is not a slogan. It’s a daily commitment to truth, accountability, and justice.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said corruption in public works should not define the government, insisting that most civil servants continue to work with honesty and dedication despite the wrongdoing of a few.

07/10/2025

In other countries, flood control is a silent but vital defense line keeping the river where it belongs and protecting communities without fanfare or corruption.

But here, why does something meant to protect lives and livelihoods so often turn into a source of scandal? Why are billions lost to greed instead of being poured into real protection for our people?

We’re not asking for perfection, just honesty, transparency, and accountability. Because flood control isn’t just an engineering project… it’s a measure of integrity.

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1By5NyTLte/?mibextid=wwXIfr

07/10/2025

Anyone who is not for good governance, transparency, and accountability will naturally never be satisfied, not because of the system, but because of their biases, political interests, and ambitions.

We believe the current Senate leadership has shown impartiality and independence in pursuing truth and justice. What we are seeing now is not political persecution, but a commitment to accountability, wherever the evidence leads.

If the administration’s direction aligns with these same principles, then there is room for unity and collaboration. But let it be clear: if any member of the administration or its allies, whether in the flood control anomalies, misuse of confidential funds, or other corrupt practices is found guilty, then justice must prevail without exception.

Because at the end of the day, transparency and accountability have no political color, only national integrity.