THE Bagong Alyansang Makabayan–Southern Mindanao Region (Bayan-SMR), along with other progressive groups and alliances, joined the National Day of Action Against Corruption through a rally held at Freedom Park on Tuesday, October 21, 2025.
The groups demanded accountability from government officials accused of corruption, including President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte.
In a statement, Bayan-SMR said that while millions of Filipinos continue to face poverty, inadequate social services, and militarization, the Marcos administration and its allies “plunder public funds and weaponize state institutions against those who expose abuses and sociopolitical realities.”
Bayan-SMR also denounced alleged large-scale corruption in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and other agencies, particularly through anomalous flood control projects. The group said it was “ironic” that activists demanding accountability are branded as terrorists or criminals, while those involved in graft remain in power.
The group criticized the recently passed 2026 national budget, calling it “riddled with lump-sum and unprogrammed appropriations” for projects endorsed by national agencies and lawmakers. It said the estimated ₱200-billion unprogrammed funds serve as a “new form of pork barrel.”
In Davao, Bayan-SMR questioned First District Representative Paolo “Pulong” Duterte over ₱51 billion in flood control and infrastructure funds allocated during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte. It also urged Vice President Sara Duterte to explain the Office of the Vice President’s use of confidential and intelligence funds from 2023 to 2024.
“All of these are manifestations of bureaucrat capitalism, where corrupt officials exploit the bureaucracy for personal and business gain,” Bayan-SMR said.
The group also condemned political repression and human rights violations in Mindanao, citing the case of the Agusan 6 — peasant organizers and rights advocates arrested in Davao de Oro and Agusan del Sur in June 2025 on what it described as trumped-up charges.
According to Bayan-SMR, the case reflects how the state “uses the justice system to silence dissent and criminalize activism while protecting plunderers in high office.” It added that these attacks are part of the government’s counterinsurgency campaign under the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), which it claims targets dissenters and civil society groups in violation of international humanitarian law. RGP