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| Anger is etched on face of protest leader Baneng Mendez |
Filipino domestic workers held an indignation rally outside the Philippine Consulate offices in Admiralty on Sunday morning to protest the widening corruption scandal in the Philippines over billions of pesos lost in anomalous flood control projects that date back to 2016.
The move came in the wake of similar protest actions
in Manila launched as congressional inquiries uncovered a massive collusion
between private contractors and government officials in pilfering money meant
to stop the recurrent flooding across the country.
“Nakakagalit!”
(Sickening) was the first word uttered by one of the protest organizers, Baneng
Mendez of Bayan Muna Hong Kong and Macau, in expressing her anger over the years
of corruption that is being uncovered only now.
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| PINDUTIN DITO |
“Kung hindi pa
tayo nagagalit sa lumalalang korapsyon sa Pilipinas, hindi tayo tunay na
Pilipino,” an enraged Mendez said. (If we are still not angry over the
widening corruption in the country, we are not true Filipinos).
She decried that migrant workers are given a hard
time getting financial help from the government when the culprits steal P2
million each day from the public coffers.
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| Protest banners call for the jailing and other retribution for the culprits |
Another speaker, Dolores Balladares of United Filipinos –Migrante Hong Kong said politicians in the country are using their position to amass wealth at the expense of the people they are meant to serve.
The 50-odd protesters representing various Filipino
migrant groups that were given police clearance to hold the 30-minute rally
held banners blaming widespread corruption for the worsening floods that have
plagued the country for years, and called for retribution.
They said money that could have been spent to
improve the people’s lives has been stolen by a few people who have been living
in luxury, including a contractor-couple who had shamelessly paraded their
fleet of about 40 luxury cars during interviews on social media.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
They called on those responsible for the plunder to
be held to account, including putting them behind bars immediately.
Not surprisingly, there was no call for President
Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to step down, as that would mean Vice President Sara
Duterte, who could soon face an impeachment trial over her alleged misuse of
hundreds of millions in “confidential funds," taking over the top post.
The protest ended with Vice Consul Gino Soriano of
the Consulate accepting a copy of the demand letter from the protesters
addressed to President Marcos.
