Various progressive and farmers’ groups gathered once again at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila to stage a protest march condemning corruption in government, calling for accountability and social justice on Tuesday, October 21.

The rallyists express their dismay towards the misuse of billions of pesos in public funds, saying the money could have been used instead to provide housing, land, education, jobs, and healthcare for Filipino families.

An effigy depicting President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as a giant rat trapped in a sewer was the centerpiece of the demonstration, symbolizing, according to organizers, greed and the rot in the country’s political system. The effigy, made of paper, wood, and other materials, was paraded through the streets as the groups marched from Liwasang Bonifacio to Mendiola.

Among the participants were BAYAN, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), and other militant organizations. KMP Chairperson Danilo Ramos lambasted the government’s land reform program, calling it “fake and designed to keep land ownership in the hands of landlords.”

This marks the sixth day of the farmers’ and farm workers’ camp-out, which aims to highlight long-standing issues of corruption, agrarian injustice, and inequality in the country.