The “Million People March to Luneta,” a social media initiative calling for people to participate in one of the largest gathering not only in Manila but also in various parts of the country, to demand the scrapping of the lawmakers’ “Pork Barrel.” The initiative is being seen by various news media organization as the Pinoy version of the popular Arab Spring.
The Arab Spring is a violent and non-violent uprisings started on December 2010, forcing down some Arab countries leader to step down in power particularly in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Syria, Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, and Sudan. Minor protests also occurred in Mauritania, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, and Western Sahara.
In the Philippines, the organizers of the Million People March promised to stage a non-violent protests. The Million People March ignited from a Facebook post urging netizens urging outraged Filipinos to gather in town squares and plazas in a show of force to put an end to the Priority Development (–foul word(s) removed–)istance Fund (PDAF) of Senators and Congressmen amid allegations of billions of pesos gone to ghost projects and kickbacks.
The upcoming march on August 26, 2013, the pork barrel claimed no leadership for the campaign, making it a citizen’s initiative. Aside from the Luneta gathering, there are also scheduled gatherings in Iloilo City, Bacolod City, Dagupan City, Baguio City, Legazpi and Lucena. The Facebook post was started by Peachy Rallonza-Bretaña, Bernardo Bernardo and Arnold Pedrigal after Ito Rapadas suggested protest action in social media.
The Million People March will be done in a similar manner with Occupy Wall Street, the million people march has no leader or organizer. It was inspired by a Facebook post from music production manager Ito Rapadas that there should be a million marchers to make a compelling stand against the pork barrel scam.
Some popular Facebook pages hosted by Filipinos are already extending their support to the “Million People March” such as the “Pinoy Expats/OFW Blog Awards, Showbiz Government and many more pages. Militant groups such as Bayan Muna have announced they were joining the gatherings in Luneta and elsewhere.
Various Facebook Pages Supporting the Million People March: