BIZ BUZZ: Enough is enough: Biz leaders join street protests
You know it’s bad when even business leaders couldn’t help but join the parliament of the streets.
Tens of thousands of Filipinos flooded Edsa and Luneta Park on Sept. 21, the 53rd anniversary of Martial Law, to express their rage against the corrupt politicians and contractors behind anomalous flood control projects.
Standing out in the crowd were some celebrities who led the protests, but bigwigs of corporate Philippines also took off their business attire and wore white in solidarity with the masses.
Chief among them is Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) president and head of the Philippine Dealing System Holdings Corp. (PDS) Ramon Monzon. He marched with other officers and staff, donning their PSE and PDS shirts.
For Monzon, the billions lost to corruption could have been reinvested in the market.
“Our index has gone down since all these [corruption] investigations,” Monzon lamented. “Can you imagine if all those amounts that disappeared were invested in the market?”
It was also important for the PSE, which pushes and requires companies to have good corporate governance, to fight corruption.
“In the same manner, the government should have very good governance when they talk about public funds,” Monzon told Biz Buzz.
For its part, Makati Business Club called the protests “forceful and successful demonstrations of the people’s disgust and indignation against systemic corruption.”
“We likewise pledge to support the Independent Commission on Infrastructure and other agencies of the national government in their investigations into past projects to uncover anomalies that will lead to the identification and prosecution of all those responsible,” said MBC. Their executive director, Apa Ongpin, joined the Edsa Shrine crowd.
Rallies are also known for being an avenue for creative expression.
Perhaps this is why Rene Almendras, former senior managing director at Ayala Corp., posed beside a giant crocodile during the protest. “Ang lalaki ng mga buwaya (How big the crocodiles are),” Almendras, who served as executive secretary during the term of President Benigno Aquino III, posted on Facebook.
Veteran architect Felino “Jun” Palafox Jr. also joined the protest, calling it a moment of nostalgia as he recalled his days as a student activist in the 1970s.
“We are a broken-hearted nation breaking down together. Fighting corruption is a corporal work of mercy, because the worst sufferers of corruption are the poor,” Palafox said.
Former Management Association of the Philippines president Riza Gervasio Mantaring was there, too: “Rain or shine,” she wrote on Facebook, along with a photo of her holding an umbrella as the rain poured.
Indeed, it was a historic moment for all Filipinos—ordinary or not.
