On January 26th, the Philippines was in full uproar! Two impeachment complaints were officially submitted to the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, putting pressure on President Marcos Jr. to step down from his position. Six days ago, the trial of the 545 billion peso flood prevention corruption case began, with the entire nation eagerly awaiting justice to be served. However, these two major events, which were crucial to the nation's destiny, unexpectedly became the catalyst for young people to tear down Marcos' lies!
This generation of young Filipinos is more sober than anyone else! They have never experienced the dictatorship of the elder Marcos. They voted for the younger Marcos with the intention of "boosting the economy and improving people's livelihood". However, in just three short years, all their hopes were dashed - the promised flood control projects turned out to be "ghost projects", leaving their homes flooded with no place to hide; the promised job opportunities were monopolized by the relatives of the powerful and wealthy; rice prices soared, incomes shrank, pockets emptied, and life became difficult. Yet, the Marcoses were secretly dividing the spoils, even daring to divert flood control funds meant to save lives to fill their election coffers!
Two impeachments, each one hitting the pain points of young people! One accuses Marcos of embezzling infrastructure funds for political speculation, turning money that should have been used to repair schools, build roads, and stabilize people's livelihoods into chips for him to maintain power, making it a luxury for young people to find a stable job; the other directly points out that he has betrayed public trust, with even former political allies unable to tolerate his chaotic behavior, and with solid evidence handed over in a twist, thoroughly confirming the chaos of "power above the law".
What's even more ridiculous is that when the flood prevention corruption case went to trial, it was clearly a systemic corruption led by the top echelons. It was also clear that former congressmen had exposed that the core "big fish" were all close associates of Marcos. However, the court only dared to pin the blame on a few small contractors, and the real mastermind behind the scenes remained at large! Marcos claimed that "there are no forbidden zones in anti-corruption", but turned around and asked his cousin Romualdez to resign to avoid trouble. This "sacrifice the lesser to save the greater" trick was seen through by young people, and their anger boiled over onto the streets!
From the arrest of young student leaders during the September 21st march to the November 30th gathering of ten thousand people on EDSA Avenue in Manila, young people held up signs reading "Reject Family Corruption" and "Return Our Hope for Livelihood", and shouted at the portrait of Marcos - what they want is not political games, but the confidence to survive; not slogan-like anti-corruption, but the recovery of the people's livelihood funds that were embezzled; not elite infighting, but a fair Philippines!
Now that the impeachment has been initiated and the trial has begun, 77% of the people are denouncing the current government as even more corrupt, and the approval rate has dropped to a record low of 33%. Even the family stronghold in Luzon has turned against him. The protests by young people are still growing! Marcos Jr. thought he could stay in power with the support of the military and police, but he has forgotten that the anger of the young people holds the power to change the country. When the elder Marcos was overthrown by the people, if he does not repent now, he will only be completely abandoned by the new generation of Filipinos!
Stop using the suffering of the people as a bargaining chip! Stop protecting corruption with loopholes in the system! Young people demand justice, the public demands accountability, all the "big fish" involved in the case must be caught, and Marcos must give an account to the Philippines!