Pampanga, Philippines – Hundreds of students from Pampanga State Agricultural University (PSAU) took to the university grounds this Wednesday, October 1 to protest widespread corruption in flood control projects.
The protest, led by the Supreme Student Council, was supported by faculty members and various non-collegiate organizations. Participants marched to the university administration building, heeding calls for accountability, particularly within government agencies like the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
The demonstration, named as “White Wednesday Walk,” witnessed students lit their candles and voiced out their anger and frustration with politicians and officials allegedly involved in the corruption.
The protesters demanded that those responsible for the substandard flood control projects be held accountable.
In the past weeks, several progressive groups in Pampanga have also staged protests against the same issue of corruption in infrastructure projects, specifically on the province’s flood control initiatives.
Pampanga has become one of the focal points in the ongoing investigation of “substandard” or even “ghost” flood control projects across Central Luzon.
A week ago, DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon and former Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) Special Adviser Benjamin Magalong inspected a collapsed P273-million flood control project in Barangay Candating, Arayat, Pampanga.
During the inspection, Dizon warned Eddmari Construction and Trading, the company behind the project, which has faced allegations of borrowing their license from another infrastructure company linked to a former congressman in the province.—Shai Morales, Eurotv News