Palace sees no threats but police on alert for Black Friday protests
The government remains “very, very stable” despite reports of massive anomalies in government flood-control projects that prompted various militant and civil society groups to launch a Black Friday protest tomorrow, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said.
“That (flood-control probe) is internal dynamics (of Congress), which is normal for us,” Bersamin said in an interview during the sidelines of a budget hearing in the Senate yesterday.
“There were eras or periods in our history that were more supposedly perceived to be destabilizing,” he added.
Gen-Z led protests over rampant corruption by the political elite have recently toppled the prime minister in Nepal while Indonesians took to the streets, brandishing brooms as a symbol of their calls to sweep away corruption and repressive security forces.
Ahead of tomorrow’s Black Friday protests, Filipinos have taken to social media to shame so-called “nepo-babies” or children of contractors and lawmakers accused of colluding with contractors in pocketing funds intended for flood-control projects.
Multisectoral groups, including business chambers, religious groups, and even military and uniformed personnel organizations have called for accountability amid reports of substandard and even “ghost” projects.
“While we take note of the President admonishing the corrupt in government, we are concerned that the guilty among these officials will continue their merry way of robbing the people and filling their pockets,” the groups said.
“We have had enough. We need to escape this vicious cycle. We must reject the system of corruption that kills our fellow Filipinos and erodes our confidence in government.”
The National Capital Region Police Office said it will deploy some 2,550 cops to secure the planned Black Friday protests.
NCRPO public information office chief Maj. Hazel Asilo said 1,250 have already been deployed in the possible venues of the rallies, specifically along EDSA and in Manila.
Bersamin, however, said he does not see any threats against the government even as several lawmakers have been dragged into the flood-control projects mess.
“I don’t see any threats… I don’t see any obstacles yet, because these are still resource persons speaking. So, I will leave the dynamics to the two houses of Congress because that is outside of our purview,” he added.
Bersamin, however, admitted that is “concerned” about the revelations in the congressional inquiries.
“Like any other citizen, I am also concerned. I will just leave it first to the bodies that are doing the investigation,” he said.
Earlier, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said anomalous ghost flood control projects have cost the economy up to P118.5 billion from 2023 to 2025.
