CHURCH leaders, students and activist groups linked the abuses of the Marcos dictatorship to present-day concerns over corruption and demanded that investigations reach Malacañang, as they marked the 54th anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law on Sept. 21.
Raymond “Mong” Palatino, secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), said probes into alleged corruption involving government infrastructure projects should extend to the Palace.
“Para sa atin, ang investigation at the minimum lang umabot sa Malacañang,” Palatino told the Varsitarian.
(For us, the investigation, at the minimum, should reach Malacañang.)
Palatino accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of being the “mastermind” behind corruption, alleging links between the executive and legislative branches.
His remarks came as former House speaker Martin Romualdez faces a P7.4-billion plunder case over an alleged kickback scheme involving flood-control and other government projects. Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla earlier described Romualdez as the “big fish” among those charged.
Former Ako Bicol party-list representative and UST system alumnus Zaldy Co and two others were also charged in the case. Romualdez has pleaded not guilty.
“[Kahit ano pang mga] panghaharang, barbed wire, police, container vans ang iharang nila, “yong pursuit for truth and accountability will continue. And it will haunt Marcos kahit matapos na ang termino niya,” Palatino said.
(No matter what barricades, barbed wire, police or container vans they put in our way, the pursuit of truth and accountability will continue. And it will haunt Marcos even after his term ends.)
“Ang gusto nating marinig ng Malacañang, the people are still vigilant. Tayo ay galit pa rin,” he added.
(What we want Malacañang to hear is that the people remain vigilant. We are still angry.)
‘People power’
Earlier in the day, San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza recalled the experience of Fr. Bert Alporque of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, who was arrested in Cebu in 1973 shortly after his ordination and accused of being a New People’s Army commander in Leyte.
“Ayon kay Father Bert, niyanig ang kanyang pananampalataya. Sa loob ng dalawang buwan, hindi siya makapanalangin,” Alminaza said in his homily at San Agustin Church before the main protest at Liwasang Bonifacio.
(According to Father Bert, his faith was shaken. For two months, he could not pray.)
Alminaza said the fall of the dictatorship through the 1986 People Power Revolution did not eliminate longstanding problems such as political dynasties and corruption.
“Hindi tayo dapat mawalan ng pag-asa,” he told the Varsitarian. “Dapat huwag natin bitawan ang ating pag-asa na through people power, through people’s initiative.”
(We should not lose hope. We should hold on to our hope in people power and people’s initiatives.)
The bishop urged young Filipinos to demand accountability from government institutions and public officials.
“Dapat tayo din, mula sa kabataan hanggang sa lahat ng sektor, ay talagang maningil,” he said.
(We, from the youth to all sectors, should also demand accountability.)
Youth link past, present issues
UST Senior High School Student Council Vice President Red Christopher Bergonio said young people continued to encounter censorship and repression decades after Martial Law.
“Even though we remember censorship and repression yesterday, we still experience them today,” the Grade 12 Health Allied student told the Varsitarian.
Bergonio, who was raised in Tarlac, said that accounts of farmers losing land to industrial projects made it difficult for him to view corruption and land disputes from the sidelines.
He cited agrarian disputes in Tarlac, including issues surrounding Hacienda Luisita and allegations involving agricultural land in Capas.
The Department of Agrarian Reform earlier investigated allegations involving more than 287 hectares in Capas that had been transferred from farmer-beneficiaries to a private company.
Bergonio urged students to engage with communities beyond the classroom.
“Go beyond your four walls, know your community, and experience the struggles of the people,” he said.
For Mary Alexisse Calibo, a political science senior and president of the UST Political Science Forum, student leaders have a responsibility to strengthen information dissemination and counter disinformation about Martial Law.
Calibo said greater access to information through social media and digital platforms did not necessarily translate into a better-informed public.
She also pushed back against the perception that youth participation in protests was merely tokenistic or limited to one-time events.
“Maganda tingnan natin ang protest bilang isang step towards pagla-lobby ng kung ano man ‘yong gusto natin na maiparating sa government level,” Calibo told the Varsitarian.
(It is important to view protests as a step toward lobbying for the concerns we want to bring to the government.)
“Here in the streets, here in the protests, we can see the realities, mas napapalakas natin ’yong calls for action,” she added.
(Here in the streets, here in the protests, we can see the realities, and we strengthen our calls for action.)
Second-year education student Dave Pandi said wading through knee-deep floodwaters during the habagat season made controversies surrounding multibillion-peso flood-control projects tangible to him.
“Kung may ‘big fish’ man na nakuha, kahit kung ‘small fish,’ all of these remain very surface-level things unless may systemic change, system-wide change na makapag-force ng ating state to make things actually better for people on the ground,” Pandi said.
(Even if a “big fish” or “small fish” is caught, all of these remain very surface-level things unless there is systemic, system-wide change that can compel the state to make things actually better for people on the ground.)
The Sept. 21 mobilizations followed large anti-corruption protests held on the same date in 2025, including “Baha sa Luneta” and the “Trillion Peso March,” where groups demanded accountability over alleged anomalies in flood-control projects.
READ: Catholic Church, youth join calls for protest at ‘Baha sa Luneta’
Protesters have accused lawmakers, contractors and public works officials of diverting funds intended for flood-control projects.
The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said no group had applied for a permit to stage protests in Metro Manila on Sept. 21, although assemblies may be held without permits in designated freedom parks.
Police said the demonstrations were generally peaceful. The NCRPO also denied online claims that two people had died during the Manila protests, saying there were no reported fatalities or casualties.
The large-scale mobilization near Mendiola Peace Arch ended at about 6 p.m. Ashley Madeleine D. Lampa and Mikaela G. Villacorta, with reports from Nyl R. Dadiz, Luis Angelo N. Palma and Prince Cassel O. Trono
