The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Let me walk you through these mass actions on a Sunday, morning and afternoon, while typhoon Nando threatened to intensify.
Literally, walking down T.M. Kalaw, goosebumps slowly creeped my skin as I witnessed the sea of people from all walks of life swelled in defiance of the massive corruption in government.
I was teary-eyed at the enthusiasm and passion of rallyists who keep on coming to the site of the resistance.
They demanded justice for Filipinos who are deprived of a prosperous future because trillions and millions of pesos were and still are being stolen by corrupt politicians.
Scenes of 70s and 80s mobilized acts readily flashed in my mind.
Eventually, the return of the democratic space has shown a series of mass actions against government mismanagement and no one was spared.
The 90s and the millennium saw deepening and deafening voices of discord from the oppressed and the abused.
The PDAP scam brought the citizens together at the sprawling grounds of Luneta’s Grandstand to remind the PNoy administration about its accountability. Many TV, film, stage and multimedia stars participated in the rally.
The Duterte dispensation wasn’t without protest actions despite the witch-hunt that even some show people, not excluding filmmakers, were red-tagged or accosted.
At the recent Rizal Park congregation, I thought, finally, the Filipino people were awakened once again to rise from their hapless conditions with star protesters in tow.
I heard Angel Aquino spoke onstage about freedom among artists and Tessie Tomas encouraging Filipinos to be vigilant of where their taxes go while Jodi Sta. Maria was fearless in her lambasting the ruthless and heartless spending of erring politicians with the connivance of private contractors and officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with people’s money.
Current youth favorite Ben&Ben performed their hit song “Kapangyarihan” which tells of the power emanating from the common man instead of politicians who are under the mercy of the ordinary citizens.