NAGA CITY—John Oliver Mimay, 32, and 13 others travelled for five hours from the town of Irosin in Sorsogon to this city to join a prayer rally against the widespread corruption involving politicians in infrastructure projects undertaken by the Department of Public Works and Highways and private contractors.
The group composed of volunteers from the campus ministry in the Veritas College of Irosin left Sorsogon at 7:30 a.m., only stopping for snacks and lunch, and arrived in Naga in time for the rally.
Some 30 other dioceses across the country were holding similar rallies and marches simultaneously. Mimay said they had received an appeal from the president of the Bicol Association of Catholic Schools, Fr. Wilmer Joseph Tria, to join the anticorruption protest dubbed “2nd Trillion Peso March: Aldaw nin Pamibi asin Protesta” (Day of Prayers and Protest).
The mass actions called for justice and accountability for flood control projects amounting to billions of pesos that turned out to be substandard or even nonexistent. The corruption is seen to have worsened the impact of the climate crisis on communities in Bicol and elsewhere in the country.
The prayer rally in Naga was mounted on Nov. 29, a day before larger protests were held in Manila and other cities and provinces on the occasion of the revolutionary Andres Bonifacio’s 162nd birthday. The second Trillion Peso March and Baha sa Luneta gathered protesters at the People Power Monument on Edsa and at Rizal Park, respectively.
From at least five assembly points, the marchers converged at the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, which houses the image of the patroness of Bicol.
‘Korapsyon ay labanan’
Mimay, an educator in Veritas, said his group joined the prayer rally to stand up for “accountability, integrity, peace, and truth.” He carried a placard that read: “Korapsyon ay labanan, sugpuin at huwag tularan. Pagyamanin ang bayan para sa kinabukasan” (Fight and rout out corruption and nurture the nation for the future).
Compared to the rest of Sorsogon, Irosin is relatively safe from floods during typhoons. But Mimay said he and the other Veritas protesters had to show up at the prayer rally.
“From the news, Sorsogon City now experiences flooding that it has not seen before, even if it is just weak rain,” Mimay said. “It is very alarming. It has to be investigated why this keeps happening so that it can be stopped as early as now.”
In November when Supertyphoon “Uwan” (internationally known as Fung-wong) passed the eastern portion of Bicol, parts of Sorsogon City were flooded.
Earlier, the first district engineering office of the DPWH removed a large log clogging a box culvert that, authorities said, was the reason for the flooding in Balogo village. But the move did not save the place from being flooded again.
In October 2024, heavy rains brought by Typhoon “Kristine” (internationally, Trami) caused flooding in Naga, leaving at least seven people dead.
Power of religion
Mimay said the participation of the Church is a big help in the people’s call on the government for accountability. “I teach Theology 3—that’s Church, Liturgy, and Sacraments. I always tell my students that the Church is not just the building. We are the Church. That includes everything, including the government,” he said, adding:
“We should join activities like this that aim to awaken and call on the government for the societal good.”
During his homily, Father Tria called on the faithful to “wake up.” He said: “From every corner of our archipelago, people of every town—Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilokano, Tausug, Bikolano—are walking together, climbing together towards a Philippines where no child goes to bed hungry, where no farmer loses his land to a fake title, where no public money disappears into secret bank accounts.”
Tria said the darkness has names in the Philippines, such as: ghost projects, pork barrel, political dynasties, trillion-peso scams, Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong or Ayuda sa Kapos ang Kita Program (Akap), and Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (Tupad).
“But light also has names,” he said. “The young people are flooding social media with great courage. The farmers are walking barefoot to Manila. The thousands who will gather again at Edsa tomorrow (Nov. 30). The more than 80 [ecclesiastical jurisdictions] praying as one.”
Bicol politicians
Mimay said he is hopeful that the politicians implicated in flood control corruption, especially those from Bicol, would repent. “Advent’s message for us is hope, and we all know that we are in the Jubilee of Hope, so if you ask me whether I am hopeful, of course I know there is hope,” he said.
The Catholic Church calls its 2025 Jubilee the “Jubilee of Hope.”
“We are here not just to shout against corruption but also to shout about hope,” Mimay said.
Former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co and Sen. Chiz Escudero—both from Bicol—have been implicated by whistleblowers in the corruption scandal. Co owns the Sunwest Group of Companies while one of Escudero’s top campaign donors is Lawrence Lubiano, president of Centerways Construction. The two companies are among the top companies granted government contracts for flood control.
But on Nov. 26, the Commission on Elections cleared Escudero and Lubiano of irregularity in the campaign donation, stating in a resolution that Lubiano and Centerways Construction are two separate entities.
