Anger in social media at the misuse of Philippine state funds has snowballed into calls for a rally expected to attract thousands, an organizer said yesterday.
Calls for a “million people march” scheduled for today began circulating on Facebook and Twitter about two weeks ago after local press reports of a scam involving the Priority Development Assistance Fund.
The fund is allocated to lawmakers for use in development projects. Critics see it as funding “pork barrel” projects, which have traditionally been a source of corruption.
Photo: EPA
At the center of the controversy is a woman who allegedly connived with legislators to siphon off about 10 billion pesos (US$233 million) from the fund.
“We demand transparency and accountability,” the organizers said in their online invitation on Facebook. “Abolish pork barrel.”
One of the organizers, Peachy Rallonza-Bretana, said the idea for the march originally circulated among her circle of friends, but quickly caught on.
“There really is no group organizing this,” she told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, adding it was “snowballing at great speed.”
As of yesterday afternoon, nearly 18,000 people had said they would join marches culminating in what the organizers said would be a peaceful “picnic get together” in Luneta Park in central Manila.
Activists in other cities have said they would hold simultaneous marches in support of the Manila protest. Various religious, professional, business and leftist organizations have also signified interest in joining the protest.
“We are aghast, disgusted and enraged at such a wanton display of shamelessness by those who we elected to serve and protect the people,” wrote alumni of the elite Philippine Military Academy, who are no longer on active duty.
“We cannot and we will not tolerate this any more even those from among our own,” they said.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese