Anticorruption protest set every Friday, leading to PH-wide Nov 30 rally
The Trillion-Peso March movement will hold anticorruption protests every Friday starting on Oct. 10 as part of the buildup for a nationwide rally on Nov. 30.
The launching of the weekly protests will see simultaneous mass actions being held in schools, offices, parishes and various community hubs.
Among the activities being planned are noise barrage, candle lighting and gatherings to be held in designated areas. A Mass will also be celebrated at Edsa Shrine and in other places in different cities.
Organizers urged participants to bring candles, placards and noise-making objects, such as whistles, horns, pots and pans.
The Trillion Peso March movement, spearheaded by the Church Leaders Council for National Transformation and backed by over 80 civil groups, described the campaign as a moral struggle against corruption.
Critical crossroads
“We stand at critical moral and national crossroads. Trillions of pesos—meant for health, education, and disaster response—have been plundered. Every stolen peso dims a future, endangers a life, and betrays our people. This is not just a political crisis; it is a profound moral failure,” it said in a Facebook post on Oct. 7.
“Join us in daily acts of solidarity: wear a white ribbon; put a white flag in your house, car, and churches; ring the bells and hold a noise barrage; light candles at 8 p.m. and [observe] the National Day of Prayer and Public Repentance,” it added.
The Nov. 30 rally, which will also commemorate Bonifacio Day, is expected to be a culmination of the movement’s series of actions. Some 100 groups are expected to attend the gathering.
The movement was born from the “Trillion-Peso March” held on Sept. 21 at the People Power Monument to protest against corruption in government. The mass action was spurred by congressional hearings that showed that government employees and lawmakers connived with contractors to pocket billions of pesos in funding for flood control projects that later turned out to be nonexistent or substandard. The allegations are now being investigated by the Independent Commission on Infrastructure created by President Marcos.
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan chair Teodoro “Teddy” Casiño earlier told the Inquirer in an interview that there were ongoing plans to hold another massive protest against corruption this month.
“There are suggestions that aside from the one on Nov. 30, another big centralized rally should also be held this month. So these are the things that are being discussed now. The various sectors are also preparing their own mass actions, which we are encouraging because of what we are seeing,” said Casiño.
