Million People March: La Salle, thousands unite against PDAF

An approximate 400,000 showed up for the August 26 “#MillionPeopleMarch” against the pork barrel and corruption in government, including La Salle, Ateneo and Juana Change.

Coinciding with the revolutionary spirit of National Heroes Day, hundreds of multisectoral groups converged in a peaceful protest against the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) at  Luneta Park this morning, netting a turnout of hundreds of thousands.

Public outrage against the PDAF – commonly known as pork barrel – snowballed after businessperson Janet Lim-Napoles was exposed to have funneled Php 10 billion through nonexistent groups and projects, once again demonstrating how the large, discretionary fund allocated to the PDAF is prone to massive exploitation.

Diversity

Uniting colleges, schools and other religious and social sectors, the protest action was bourne from the ambitious “Million People March” effort, a viral reformist movement against the PDAF which stemmed from Facebook and other social networking sites. Despite coming from all walks of life, the sentiments remain the same.

Glory Aguas, who has been partaking in people power rallies since the revolutionary EDSA I, says,  “Okay lang tayo, pero ang mga mahihirap, they have no voice. Kaya ako nandito, para may boses sila.”

Several sisters from the Oblate of Notre Dame, Philippines braved the weather all the way from Cotabato to represent the cause by being present in Luneta Park. “We would like to be counted,” they explain, “We would like to be known, we would like to be to be represented, that we are here because we’re against the anomalies; the corruption.”

A representative from the College Editor’s Guild of the Philippines stresses that the youth should be involved in the issue due to its high implications on the education sector, especially due to the sector’s prevailing low budget. In this sense, CEGP highly supports the PDAF abolishments and other future related initiatives.

Nurhana from the Islamic-based Liwanag ng Kapayapaan Foundation, complains about the poor state of health services in the Philippines and questions the usage of taxes in the country, enumerating other Muslim countries that operate without taxes. She and her group hopes that this rally would net the abolishment of the pork barrel fund.

Jay del Rosario, Kabataang Artista para sa Tunay na Kalayaan (Karatula) under the Youth ACT NOW! alliance, released a statement signed by national artist personalities. “Sa nakikita ninyo, ang laki ng bilang ng mamayan na nagtungo dito para ipakita ang galit nila at inis sa tuloy na pagloloko ni President Aquino.” Del Rosario criticizes President Aquino’s Friday statement for the abolishment of the PDAF and its re-establishment under a different name, expressing further anger at the government’s lack of transparency and accountability.

One La Salle

De La Salle Philippines (DLSP) also partook in the rally against the PDAF, in line with the Renewed Call for Transparency and Accountability. The movement came following a call to mass action by DLSP President Br. JJ Jimenez FSC, and the group headed for Luneta was coordinated by the Lasallian Justice and Peace Commission. Most of the security detail was provided by De La Salle College of St. Benilde, while the Corazon Aquino Democratic Space at the Henry Sy, Sr. Hall of DLSU was designated as the assembly point for the march.

At 8 am, Brothers, faculty, students and alumni from La Salle Greenhills, De La Salle Araneta University, De La Salle Zobel High School, College of St. Benilde , the Science and Technology Complex, and De La Salle Dasmarinas left the Democratic Space for an hour-long march towards Luneta in protest of the pork barrel, despite the announcement that Monday would not be a holiday for some La Salle schools.

The Lasallian community was encouraged to break into small groups and hold discussions on the pork barrel issue. Beyond the collective presence of Lasallians acting as a form of expression, several facilitators from the DLSP Lasallian Justice and Peace Commission headed teach-ins and distributed educational  handouts on the use of PDAF in Philippine legislative chambers. Attendees were encouraged to listen and understand the complex issue thoroughly, as well as address their concerns.

“It’s a great sight to see the whole Lasallian community gathered here as one Lasallian family,” said USG president Migi Moreno. While he laments that the student turnout did not meet his initial expectations due to the University’s declaration of a school day, he was happy that students took their time off to involve themselves in national issues.

Back in the Manila campus, a mass was held at 12 noon at Pearl Great Price Chapel in commemoration of National Heroes Day, followed by a noise barrage led by DLSU’s Animo Pep Squad and the USG.