THE Kabataan Partylist–Southern Mindanao Region (KPL-SMR), along with several youth groups and campus organizations, rallied at Roxas Freedom Park in Davao City on Monday to protest alleged corruption in government.
KPL-SMR chair Cobbie Jan Canda said young people are frustrated that no one is being held accountable for long-running corruption cases.
“Ang mga kabataang Dabawenyo ay walang takot maningil sa loop ng balwaste ng mga Duterte (The youth of Davao are unafraid to call out the Duterte family’s cycle of wrongdoing). We too will follow the footsteps of our predecessors who fought for a future that we all deserve,” he said.
Protesters carried placards reading “No to Budget Cuts,” “Pondo sa Edukasyon, Hindi sa Korapsyon,” and “Education is a Right, Not a Privilege.” The program ran from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and ended with a community singing of Tatsulok by Bamboo, underscoring the song’s message on inequality.
Fauzhea Guiani of Anakbayan–Southern Mindanao said the youth marched to demand accountability and jail time for those involved in corruption cases.
“Upat na ka bulan sukad na expose ang anomalya sa flood control, apan karon wala gihapon na preso sa tanan na mga kurakot na involved sa mga korupsyon na talamak sa atoang gobyerno karun (It has been four months since the flood-control anomaly was exposed, yet until now, none of the corrupt individuals involved in the widespread corruption in our government have been jailed),” she said.
Canda said the protest, held in time for International Students’ Day, shows that Davao’s youth are neither passive nor afraid to challenge both the Marcos and Duterte families. He said young people will continue pushing for accountability and systemic reforms.
He claimed that the Priority Development Assistance Fund (Pdaf), or pork barrel, has reemerged under a different name through Unprogrammed Appropriations, allegedly designed during the Duterte administration and now used by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“Sa pagsingil natin sa mga Marcos at sa mga alipores nila, hinding-hindi dapat natin kalimutan at alisin sa usapiv ang mga Duterte, dahil kung babalikan, millines at bilyones din ang kanilang winaldas nog panahaon ng dating pangulong Duterte, at sa kasalukuyan na si Sara Duterte ang nakaupo bihang bise-presidente (As we hold the Marcoses and their cronies accountable, we must never forget or remove the Dutertes from the conversation, because if we look back, they also squandered millions and billions during former President Duterte’s time, and now Sara Duterte is serving as the current vice president),” he said.
Canda said President Marcos’s “pork” has reached P281 billion, while unprogrammed appropriations stand at P243 billion, funds that he said could have built 140,000 classrooms and provided 1.7 million students with slots in state universities and colleges. RGP