Don’t let the plunderers steal our anger, too

Lately, anger has become our national language, spoken loudly across social classes.

- RONALD LLAMAS

Ever since the massive flood control project corruption scandal broke into public view, Filipinos have found their collective fury over corruption and the utter lack of justice and accountability in this country. That anger poured into the streets during the Trillion Peso March last Sept. 21, a massive wave of indignation that has since grown into a full-fledged movement now preparing for an even bigger protest rally on Nov. 30.

And while the masterminds of this grand plunder remain free, the people’s outrage has nonetheless pushed the government to act. The administration under President Bongbong Marcos Jr. was compelled to establish the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI); the newly appointed ombudsman is under pressure to promptly address the public’s demand for justice; the SALNs of public officials, previously protected like state secrets, are gradually being revealed and even the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has begun to clean its house, possibly for the first time in years. These might be minor triumphs in the broader battle against corruption, yet they are tactical and will undoubtedly aid in strategically dismantling the walls of impunity and injustice.

But it’s not only the citizens who are angry. Even the plunderers and political dynasties are into performative anger. Not satisfied with ransacking the nation’s coffers, they, too, are stealing our righteous anger. The very people long accused of looting the nation’s coffers, abusing power and dodging accountability now speak the language of justice, acting like born-again apostles of integrity.