As Marcos marks father’s legacy, anti-corruption protests rock EDSA
MANILA, Philippines — “We will not allow for any great power, any person, to humiliate or to put down any Filipino.”
Celebrating his father’s birthday in their bailiwick of Ilocos Norte, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. spoke of their legacy and service. Surrounded by members of the Marcos clan, he spoke of the standard Ferdinand Marcos Sr. left.
“We must remember, we must be motivated by the lessons that he left with us. The lessons that we must exercise good judgment and always, always side with the national interest, in the interest of Filipinos. In everything that we do, we must be motivated by a true commitment to service, and a true – it must be driven by a true love of every single Filipino and a love for the Republic of the Philippines,” Marcos said in a wreath-laying ceremony in honor of his father.
More than 500 kilometers away in the nation’s capital, hundreds of protesters took to EDSA to rally against the administration’s biggest corruption scandal yet.
“PUNISH ALL PLUNDERERS!” one of the biggest signs read.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority estimated that there were around 200 people gathered at the EDSA Shrine: the very monument that commemorated the People Power protests that overthrew Marcos Sr.’s dictatorship in 1986.
It has since been used as a shrine symbolizing mass organization and freedom.
“We cannot allow the collusion of contractors, district engineers, and high officials to rob us blind. Everyone involved in corruption must be held to account,” Akbayan Partylist Rep. Perci Cendaña said.
Cendaña and Akbayan were among the groups who attended the protests.
Marcos himself was the first to call attention to the flood control mess, with large sums of public funds going into ghost flood projects. While he has asked the public for calm, the floodgates have been opened.
The corruption scandal has rocked both the executive and the legislative branches, with officials being tagged in alleged kickback schemes and money laundering exploits.
While President Marcos has not been directly linked to the flood control controversy, his father’s rule has long faced questions over corruption.
The Guinness World Records listed the Marcos-era corruption as “the Greatest Robbery of a Government,” while the World Bank and UN Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that $5 billion to $10 billion was taken from public funds.
Marcos Jr. has consistently denied any wrongdoing by his father, but critics say this raises doubts about his ability to lead a strong anti-corruption campaign.
- Latest
- Trending
