Last week, the internet was flooded with outrage over Filipino taxpayer money allegedly funding the lavish lifestyles of contractors, politicians, and their relatives. This week, citizens are fueled anew by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s second hearing on corruption and the ghost flood control projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The uproar online is what news anchor Karen Davila called “kurakot shaming,” saying in an X post that “it’s high time” people stopped looking to corrupt politicians as inspiration and instead started shaming them for their ostentatious displays of wealth. “Sa ibang bansa, ang nagnanakaw sa gobyerno nakukulong o nagha-harakiri,” she said. “Sa Pilipinas, kina-iinggitan. Tama na.”
The anger of the public has also taken on a more palpable and traditional form.
On Thursday, September 4, protesters took to a property owned by contractors Sarah and Curlee Discaya in Pasig City and vandalized the gate with mud and spray paint. The Discayas’ lawyer, Attorney Cornelio Samaniego III, told reporters at the scene that charges will be filed against the protest organizers.
In the city of Manila, student activists also staged a protest outside the DPWH office. On Friday, September 5, they also held demonstrations outside the House of Representatives in Quezon City, as lawmakers held a budget hearing for the DPWH indoors.
In response to the protest at the St. Gerrard Construction building, Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said that the government did not want the ongoing investigation to result in violence. “Hindi po nanaisin ng pangulo na ganito ang mangyari. Sabi nga po ng pangulo, sinusunod po natin ang due process. Sa mga kapwa nating Pilipino, ang pag-iimbestigang ginagawa po ng pangulo, ang pag-uutos na imbestigahan lahat ay para rin po sa taumbayan.”
Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto, who has been vocal about the Discayas’ allegedly anomalous contracts with the government, likewise advised protesters against rioting. “I understand that we are angry and frustrated, but let’s not resort to violence or acts that could potentially lead to violence or injuries,” he said in a Facebook post following the protest. “Hindi naman yung mga corrupt ang masasaktan pag bumigay ang gate, hindi rin sila ang matatamaan ng bato. Nag-aalala ako para sa mga security guard, trabahador, at ralyista mismo.”
Sotto added that citizens should not feel hopeless, as “the momentum is on the right side now.”
Futile Exercise
The flood control controversy has become the country’s hottest topic over the past weeks. But one wonders whether that’s all it will ever be: mere fodder for online outrage, investigations unresolved as the government moves on to other matters.
Marcos has made a show of visiting supposed construction sites for flood control projects, expressing disappointment in the lack of progress, and calling for lifestyle checks. As the DPWH’s new secretary, Vince Dizon has taken and promised big strides in the crackdown on the agency’s corrupt officials and employees. In his post, Sotto said that Pasig City’s local government has coordinated and exchanged information with “at least five national government agencies.” He added, “Nararamdaman din namin na bumibilis ang kilos nila ngayon.”
These are very convincing first steps, and maybe they’ll eventually lead to the great purge of corrupt government officials. But for cynics, these first steps mean the national government and its agencies can still very easily stop what they’re doing and backtrack in the interest of protecting padrinos and cronies.
Anakbayan Chairperson Mhing Gomez pointed out that Marcos still had a hand in the flood control projects’ failure. “Isang malaking palabas ang ginawang kunwa-kunwaring paglalantad ni Marcos Jr. sa korapsyon sa mga flood control projects gayong ehekutibo niya ang nagpropose nito, at kanyang pinirmahan,” Gomez said during the protest at the DPWH office. “Kung sasabihin niyang wala siyang alam, inamin na rin niyang pinirmahan niya ang pambansang budget nang hindi ito inaaral.”
Clearly, top-level officials should not be exempt from interrogation, but it will be a long and excruciating wait before we get there (if we even get there at all). So what’s an ordinary, tax-paying citizen to do?
Sustaining Rage
If there’s a positive takeaway from the past few weeks, it’s that awareness and public pressure can move a government into action. Now, Filipinos need to keep pushing.
Coincidentally, issues surrounding economic disparity also caused uproar in Indonesia at around the same time Filipino netizens began kurakot shaming.
On August 25, Indonesian students demonstrated at the Parliamentary Complex of Indonesia in Jakarta to protest a proposal seeking to increase the housing allowance of members of parliament (MP) to $3,057, which is almost 10 times the minimum wage in the capital of Jakarta, according to the Associated Press.
After that, several other protests erupted in the city and other parts of Indonesia, and continued as late as this Thursday. Many demonstrations have escalated into clashes between protesters and police. On August 28, a police vehicle ran over 21-year-old motorcycle taxi rider Affan Kurniawan, prompting swathes of other motorcycle riders to join protests.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and other political leaders have agreed to cut the MPs’ housing allowance and suspend overseas trips for them. However, as in the Philippines, there’s no saying where the protests and discussions go next.
For now, it’s wise not to get too excited by the idea of an anti-corruption revolution, but it’s still important to stay agitated and keep the controversy from dying down.
