By Shayne Elizabeth T. Flores

Reiterating their call for a transparent and accountable government, students from universities under the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) underlined the need for President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte to resign for real systemic change to happen during the National Day of Walkout at Mendiola last November 21.

On November 20, the schools released a joint statement, signed by their respective student council presidents, announcing their participation in the walkout, prompted by the escalating state corruption and repression.

In her speech, Sanggunian ng mga Mag-aaral ng mga Paaralang Loyola ng Ateneo de Manila President Annika Torres attributed the slow progress of investigation into the anomalous flood control projects to the president and vice president’s oversight.

“Napakabagal ng makinarya ng hustisya sa ilalim ng rehimeng Marcos-Duterte. Paano nga ba tayo aasa sa hustisya kung sila rin mismo ay magnanakaw (The machinery of justice under the Marcos-Duterte regime is very slow. How can we hope for justice if they are themselves thieves)?” she said.

Despite the flood control scandal breaking out in as early as July, arrest warrants have only been issued recently against former congressman Zaldy Co and 17 others involved in the Department of Public Works and Highways and Sunwest Corporation.

Meanwhile, following the discourse on their eligibility as state witnesses, contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya are expected to be charged in court next as per the Ombudsman.

As such, for the students, the only solution for the slow progress of justice is to hold those of highest power accountable as they enable the embezzlement of public funds themselves.

“Kami po na nagkakaisa na [representante] ng UAAP schools, ang panawagan po namin ay mag-resign na lahat ng kurakot, simula sa mga nasa tuktok na siya mismo ang chief architect ng pangungurakot sa pondo ng bayan (As united representatives of the UAAP schools, our call is to have corrupt politicians resign, starting with those at the top who are the chief architects of the embezzlement of public funds themselves),” Torres emphasized.

Per the People’s Budget Coalition, the Congress must work to further cut down the allocation of the P6.793 trillion 2026 national budget for pet assistance programs, confidential and intelligence funds, unprogrammed appropriations, and the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), as their amounts stand as questionable.

The coalition also encouraged scrutiny for the rise in the allocation for confidential and intelligence funds, increasing by P629 million to P11.6 billion in the Senate version, which they cited as a “step backward” as it does not help in preventing another flood-control-style corruption scandal.

This is on top of the state leaders’ supposed lack of proactive measures in charging the alleged plunderers tagged in the flood control issue.

“Ano pa ang aasahan sa inyo? Eh, dalawa kayong magnanakaw na nanggaling sa pamilyang magnanakaw, na may kaibigang magnanakaw. Ni hindi niyo mapauwi si Zaldy Co, ginawa niyong state witness ang mga Discaya (What else can you expect? You are two thieves who came from a family of thieves, with friends who are thieves. You could not even send Zaldy Co home and you made the Discayas state witnesses),” League of Filipino Students - Far Eastern University (FEU) Chairperson Jham Evangelista raised.

Meanwhile, University of Santo Tomas (UST) Central Student Council President Annie Agon condemned their university for giving the National Security Council a space in their campus, when the same exposure and tolerance is not given to the student council.

“Ang UST ay patuloy na binibigyan ng espasyo ang [mga organisasyon katulad ng] NTF-ELCAC pero ang ating mga student council, nahihirapan kaming maglabas mismo ng kahit statement namin (UST continues to give space to organizations like NTF-ELCAC, while our student councils struggle to release even our own statement),” she remarked.

On the other hand, National University (NU) Central Student Government Representative Charlie Caraga highlighted the intersection of the issues the UAAP member schools experience.

“Hindi hiwalay ang laban ng mga Nationalians sa mga kapuwa mag-aaral sa mga pribadong institusyon sa mga iskolar ng bayan. Pare-parehas tayong biktima ng kakulangan sa pasilidad, hindi accessible na mga learning materials, at mga absent o ghost professors sa ating mga pamantasan (Nationalians’ fight alongside fellow students in private institutions is not separate from that of the country’s scholars. We are all victims of insufficient facilities, inaccessible learning materials, and absent or ghost professors in our universities),” he claimed.

Thus, the students pledged to continue to step out from their respective universities to resist and protest until true justice and accountability are served.

“Patunay po ito na hindi po humihinahon, hindi humuhupa ang aming galit… Kita natin ngayon ang laksa-laksang kabataan na patuloy na nakikibaka para sa hustisya. At isa lang ang masasabi natin, tuloy po ang ating laban (This is proof that our anger is still there. We see many young people continue to struggle for justice today. And we can only say one thing, our fight will continue),” Torres noted.

Alongside other universities and sectors, the UAAP schools that participated in the walkout were University of the Philippines Diliman, University of the East Caloocan, Adamson University, University of the East Manila, Ateneo de Manila University, UST, FEU Manila, De La Salle University, and NU Manila.

The protest also serves as a buildup to the Bonifacio Day mobilization this coming Sunday, November 30.

(Photo by Ma. Louela Luna/FEU Advocate)