Over 3,000 UP students, faculty, staff walk out of classes to protest flood control issue, university budget cuts
A record 3,000-plus students, faculty, and staff of the University of the Philippines walked out of their classes on Friday, Sept. 12, amid the flood control corruption scandal and other anomalies in the government.
The Philippine Collegian, UP's official student publication, reported that the Black Friday Protest this year was the largest walkout action since the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar actions were held in UP Manila, UP Tacloban, and UP Diliman Extension Programs in Pampanga and Olongapo.
Chancellor Edgardo Vistan—as well as the deans of the colleges of Arts and Letters, Social Work and Community Development, Fine Arts, Science, Media and Communication, Home Economics, and the Asian Institute of Tourism—endorsed the protest.
The UP community began walking out and gathering at Llamas and Abelardo Halls at 10:20 a.m. So-called snake rallies were held in local colleges as they converged by 11 a.m.
At 11:20 a.m., everybody gathered at the iconic Arts and Sciences (AS) Steps in front of Palma Hall, where students have traditionally held protests and other political activities.
Dressed in black shirts, they held red placards decrying the alleged corruption in flood control projects, university budget cuts, press freedom concerns, as well as global issues like the Israeli-Palestine conflict.
"Hindi natin nakikita kung saan nila gusto dalhin ang kinabukasan ng bayan... kinabukasan ko, kinabukasan natin ang ninanakaw," The Collegian quoted former College of Science Dean Giovanni Tapang as saying.
Rommel Rodriguez, vice president for faculty of the All UP Academic Employees Union, also called on UP President Angelo Jimenez to join them and launch an investigation into the alleged corruption within UP.
"Kailangan sumama siya sa pagkilos upang managot ang mga tiwali sa unibersidad," Rodriguez said.
The protests carried on even after lunchtime, never mind a police vehicle that had been spotted by Ugnayang Tanggol KAPP, an organization from the College of Social Science and Philosophy, along the University Avenue. There was no reported reason for police presence, and it was also unknown whether the police vehicle in question had acquired permission from the university administration to enter the campus.
Everyone then went inside the Palma Hall as rain began to fall. They sang the university hymn, UP Naming Mahal, to end the walkout action.
On Thursday night, Sept. 11, Jimenez expressed support for the planned Black Friday Protest.
"The university views with the gravest concern the revelation of deep-seated and massive corruption plaguing the flood control projects in our country," Jimenez said. "We cannot stay neutral."
He also said that the UP administration is reaffirming its "unwavering commitment to safeguard the integrity of our procurement processes."
“We shall employ all legal means to ensure full accountability, in fulfilment of our continuing duty to serve the Filipino people,” Jimenez said. "Furthermore, we support the advocacy for fiscal governance reforms and greater transparency in the public sector to improve the delivery of services to our people."
"Beyond raging against corruption, we must also harness our education and training to provide solutions to the real problems of our people. As the University of the People, it is our overarching moral responsibility," he added.
Flood control mess
The issue in the government's flood control projects began in July as the rains triggered massive flooding in the metro. At the time, economist JC Punongbayan questioned why flooding persists despite having billions of pesos in flood control allocations over the years.
Sen. Ping Lacson told dzBB that since 2011, about P1 trillion allocated for flood control projects may have been lost to corruption.
Marcos, in his fourth State of the Nation Address, then called out government officials involved in the would-be corruption in flood control projects.
He ordered the DPWH to "immediately submit" to him the list of flood control projects from every region that were started and completed in the last three years. He said a project monitoring committee will evaluate this list to determine the failures, as well as the unfinished and ghost projects.
Marcos launched the Sumbong sa Pangulo website, where the public can track and report anomalous flood control projects and other possible corrupt practices. According to the website, there are 9,855 flood control projects totalling P545.64 billion since July 2022. Of that number, 6,021 projects worth over P350 billion don't specify the exact type of flood control being built, while several others in different locations also have the same contract cost.
Marcos also said there are 15 contractors that exclusively bagged 20% of all flood control projects worth P100 billion in the last three years.
In his podcast that aired on Sept. 8, Marcos said the DPWH will have zero flood control budget for 2026.
On Sept. 11, Marcos signed an executive order creating the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, which has the mandate to "hear, investigate, receive, gather, and evaluate evidence, intelligence reports and information, against all government officials and employees, and any other individual, involved in anomalies, irregularities, and misuse of funds in the planning, financing, and implementation of government flood control and other infrastructure projects nationwide."
Among them was the couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya, who were thrown into the spotlight when Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto, whom Sarah unsuccessfully ran against in the midterm elections, posted about their controversial interviews with Korina Sanchez and Julius Babao.
In the interviews, the Discayas talked about their "inspiring" rags-to-riches life story, showcasing their dozens of luxury cars and other assets. Babao asked them what served as their "gateway" to have a better life, and Sarah answered, "Noong nag-DPWH kami."
After Sotto's posting, the couple's story unraveled and opened a can of worms. It led to flood control projects being the talk of the town, a Bureau of Customs chase, revocation of the Discaya companies' licenses, and congressional hearings.
The national attention and outrage toward the Discayas since the metro's flooding also rubbed off on other contractors. Adding insult to the injury was how internet users noticed several children of politicians and contractors, branding them as "nepo babies," who flex their designer clothing and fly to different countries in seemingly unapologetic fashion—even vlogging about their comforts.
Many celebrities and personalities, who are typically mum on politics, have also decided to speak up amid the controversy.
The Discayas have since maintained their innocence, claiming that they're just victims of a broken system. In the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Hearing on Monday, Sept. 8, they accused DPWH officials and congressmen of making them participate in anomalous biddings with kickbacks ranging from 10% to 25%. Otherwise, they'd supposedly face termination of contracts, right-of-way problems, and removal from the government's contractors list.
Curlee name-dropped the officials, who promptly denied his claims. There were even some who said they'd file libel and perjury cases against the couple.
In a House committee hearing on Sept. 9, former DPWH engineer Brice Hernandez, who was detained at the Philippine National Police Custodial Center after the Senate cited him in contempt, shifted the blame to senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva, former DPWH Bulacan 1st District Engineer Henry Alcantara, and DPWH Visayas Usec. Robert Bernardo.
Hernandez claimed that the officials were involved in kickback schemes for projects worth millions of pesos, with Alcantara as the "chief implementor." Estrada, Villanueva, and Alcantara denied the accusations.
DPWH Sec. Vince Dizon has filed a case against 20 public work officials, including Alcantara and Hernandez, as well as four contractors.