More than a thousand citizens, led by Akbayan Partylist, Tindig Pilipinas, and Youth Against Kurakot (YaK!) converged at the historic EDSA Shrine today in a mass celebration and protest action to denounce the trillion-peso flood control scandal that siphoned away people’s money meant for vital infrastructure.
Akbayan underscored that the massive corruption in flood control projects is not an isolated scam but a symptom of a larger, systemic political epidemic.
Deputy Minority Leader Akbayan Rep. Perci Cendaña condemned the gravity of the scandal, likening it to a new epidemic afflicting the nation. “May nakakatakot na bagong epidemya ang umuusbong ngayon—ang sakit na Kleptospirosis. Imbes katawan, kaban ng bayan ang pinupuntirya,” Cendaña warned.
He added: “Sa lala ng sakit ng korapsyon, kailangan ng agarang intervention. Bilang panimulang prophylactic, we need Congress to release the SALNs of all House members. Kasunod, ang agarang treatment sa pagtatag ng Independent Commission to investigate the corruption in infra projects. At panghuli, we need a strong vaccine para di na maulit ito—an Open Infra Law to make the infra projects in the country not only transparent but also at par with industry standards.”
Akbayan President Rafaela “Paeng” David emphasized that corruption, like a disease, spreads quickly if not contained. “Gaya ng sakit, nakakahawa ang korapsyon. Kailangan mapurga na ang ating gobyerno sa panloloko at pandarambong ng mga katulad nilang kumurakot sa kaban ng bayan.”
David also slammed the Discayas’ brazen attempt to enter the state witness program and the shameless sponsorship of Duterte’s allies in the Senate: “State witness? Mas bagay sa kanila ang tawaging state parasites. Beware of squid tactics by the Discayas and others who seek to muddle the truth. Exposing the truth is the first step towards accountability. Anything short of a tell-all is suspect and must be rejected.”
The groups closed the action by calling on the public to intensify the fight against corruption and join an even bigger mobilization on September 21, the anniversary of Martial Law, to draw the line against both authoritarianism and plunder.
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