Hit the streets! Rage against corruption!

Today, the streets will be filled with thousands of students from Catholic schools nationwide, private and state universities, the Church’s dioceses, social movements, civil society organizations and a multitude of sectoral groups. The message is clear: outrage at the multitrillion-peso corruption tied to flood control projects, and a demand for accountability from all those complicit in this brazen heist of public funds.

- RONALD LLAMAS

The date of the protests is not coincidental; it will occur on the anniversary of martial law under the Marcos dictatorship, that dark period of oppression and, yes, plunder. Today's mass actions recall that dark past and proclaim, “Never again.”

Two epicenters will anchor the protests. At the People Power Monument in EDSA, groups represented by the Church Leaders’ Council for National Transformation (CLCNT), the Simbahan at Komunidad Laban sa Katiwalian (SIKLAB), Akbayan Party, Tindig Pilipinas, ML Partylist, Nagkaisa Labor Coalition, Kalipunan and Youth Against Kurakot (YAK) are uniting in the “Trillion Peso March.” Thousands of churchgoers and Catholic school students are expected to join, channeling the spirit of EDSA as proof that Filipinos have toppled corruption before, and can do it again.

Meanwhile, Luneta will host another massive gathering, organized by the Tama Na Network Alliance. To those wondering why there are two major protests on the same day, the answer is simple: multiplication, not division. In an ideal world, everyone might rally under one banner. But if life were perfect, we wouldn’t be drowning in corruption in the first place. Social movements are not monolithic; they are diverse, layered and even spontaneous. Multiple fronts only strengthen the fight against corruption, offering Filipinos more avenues to express their outrage in whichever space and voice they choose.

The main point is the message, “we have had enough.” Enough of the performative trapo politics. Enough of the dynastic impunity. Enough of the cyclical telenovela of corruption and the lack of justice and accountability.