Overseas Filipinos launch global coalition against corruption

“Ang laban sa Pilipinas ay laban natin saan man tayo naroroon”  

TORONTO – Stressing that corruption is a root cause of forced migration, overseas Filipino organizations launched in an online press conference the Kilusang Bayan Kontra Kurakot (KBKK)-Global, a worldwide coalition of Filipinos against corruption.

Joined by Migrante International, BAYAN International, and Filipino diaspora organizations from the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, the coalition released a joint manifesto demanding investigation, prosecution, and punishment of all perpetrators from top to bottom, the establishment of safeguards against corruption, an end to political manipulation and power grabbing, protection and upholding of the people’s right to protest, and the formation of a national transition council.

Fr. Benjamin Alforque of the National Ecumenical Forum for Filipino Concerns – Inland Empire (NEFFCON-IE) said that what is happening now is the “largest corruption scandal happening in the history of [the] country.”

Alforque said that the result of this corruption is the destruction of mother earth, death of people, and displacement of thousands. “Corruption kills. And we [believe] that there should be true accountability and justice in our land. We refuse to be robbed of our future.”

Joy Sales of Malaya Movement USA stressed that the budget insertions and massive anomalies linked to the Office of the President, Office of the Vice President, and other agencies cannot be done without high-level approval. She added that KBKK “reject[s] scapegoating of lower officials to shield the most powerful.”

KBKK-Global demanded a transparent probe into the entire flood control and infrastructure corruption scheme, saying all those involved, including the president and vice president, must be investigated. 

Sales said that to prevent further plunder, they are calling for the abolition of pork barrel “in all its forms,” including confidential and intelligence funds, unprogrammed and lump sum appropriations, and illegal budget insertions. There should also be real-time disclosure of all government projects and contracts, and an end to nepotism, political dynasties, and the corruption of the party-list system practices that, according to Sales, allow “those with money and power to have control over the people’s wealth.”

Root cause

Apol Apuntar of Taumbayan Ayaw sa Magnanakaw at Abusado (TAMA NA) coalition in Toronto, an alliance of Filipino progressives in Canada standing against corruption, said that the struggles of Filipinos abroad are linked to the struggles back home.

Apuntar said that the reason why OFWs exist is because there is a crisis pushing them to leave the country and should not be normalized. “Kung ang bilyon-bilyong pondo na kinukuralot ng mga politiko ay napupunta sana sa mga serbisyong panlipunan, makakatulong ito para magkaroon sana ng mas magandang kabuhayan ang mga Pilipino at hindi na kami mapilitan na mangibang bayan.”

(If the billions of funds that are stolen through corruption by politicians were used on social services, this could have helped in ensuring better livelihood for Filipinos and we would not be forced to go abroad for work.)

Efrel Cabaguio of Anakbayan Canada also pointed to corruption as the driving force behind migration, echoing what many migrant groups have long asserted. “The forced migration of our kababayans due to lack of jobs, livelihood, and social services is a clear manifestation of systemic corruption in the Philippines.”

“Migration is another way the government steals from the people’s money,” he said, stressing that the state treats it as a business by conniving with various agencies and legislators.

Filipinos overseas work multiple jobs, he said, to keep up with living costs in Canada while sending remittances home, funds that reached US$38.34B (CA$54B)  just last year. Yet, Cabaguio asked, “where does the money go?”

When disasters strike in the Philippines, Cabaguio noted, it is often Filipinos abroad who mobilize first to support their families. “Our remittances are being pocketed,” he said.

For Cabaguio, the youth diaspora has a role to play, to expose what is going on back home, to understand how migration is tied to conditions in the Philippines, and to organize fellow Filipino youth overseas to fight corruption.

The shared narrative of displacement and sacrifice was echoed by Fr. Aris Miranda of the Promotion of Church People’s Response. “Hindi na sapat na tawagin kayong mga bagong bayani, ang titulong ito ay naging pampalubag loob na lamang habang patuloy na ginagatasan ng estado ang inyong pawis at dugo.” 

(It is not enough for us to be called New Heroes, this title is used to make us feel good while the government continues to milk us with our sweat and blood.)

For him, standing against corruption is a necessity. “Ang inyong pangingibang bayan ay hindi isang malayang pagpili. Ito ay resulta ng sistemang bulok na pinalala ng dinastiyang politikal at pandarambong.”

(You going abroad is not a free choice. This is a result of a rotten system made worse by political dynasties and plunder.)

He described the government as benefiting from migrants’ sacrifices while wasting public funds on confidential and unprogrammed budgets, parties, and foreign trips. He called the labor export policy of the current administration as modern day slavery.

Miranda linked corruption directly to the pain of separation that migrant families endure. “Kapag ninanakaw ang pondo para sa edukasyon, kalusugan at trabaho, ninanakawan din kayo ng pagkakataong makapiling ang inyong mga anak habang lumalaki sila.”

(Whenever they steal from the budget of education, health, or jobs, they are also robbing you of the opportunity to be with your children as they grow.)

“Ang bawat birthday na wala kayo, bawat sakit na hindi ninyo inaalagaan, isisi ninyo yan sa gobyernong inuuna ang sariling interes kesa kapakanan ng mamamayan. Ang laban sa Pilipinas ay laban natin saan man tayo naroroon”

(Every birthday without you, every sickness that you were not able to care for, blame it on a government that prioritizes self-interest rather than the interest of the people. The struggle in the Philippines is our struggle, wherever we may be.) (RTS, DAA)

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