21/09/2025
For every peso stolen is a wall left unbuilt, a community left to the mercy of floodwaters, a childโs dream left to drown.
Today we mark the fifty-third anniversary of Martial Law- a chapter of darkness when freedom was shackled, when truth was silenced, and when the lifeblood of the nation was plundered by those who placed their greed above the people.
From that bitter past, one lesson rings through the years: tyranny and corruption walk hand in hand, and their cost is always borne by the people.
We must not forget, and we must not falter. Because today, another enemy stands before- corruption in flood control projects. It may not wear a uniform nor declare decrees, but it robs just as mercilessly.
Today, let us resolve with the same spirit that once cried Never again! against dictatorship: Never again to corruption, never again to betrayal, never again to the squandering of the peopleโs trust.
We must build- not upon the quicksand of dishonesty, but upon the rock of integrity. We must say to the corrupt, in words that echo through every chamber of power and every corner of our land: your theft shall not stand, your betrayal shall not prevail.
Let us march forward, armed not with fear but with courage, not with silence but with truth. For as we honor the sacrifices of those who stood against tyranny fifty-three years ago, so must we rise today against the corruption that threatens to weaken our nation
