UP-systemwide Black Friday protest denounce budget cuts, rampant government corruption

Shekinah Jedidiah Alima

Thousands of students and faculty from the University of the Philippines (UP) system walked out of classes to stage a Black Friday protest against budget cuts and alleged wide-scale government corruption on Sept. 12.

As the UP system faces a P2.08 billion peso budget cut for 2025 and flood control anomalies surfaced, snake rallies were held in UP Manila, UP Diliman, UP Tacloban, UP Diliman Extension Programs in Pampanga and Olongapo (UPDEPPO).

UP Diliman Chancellor Edgardo Vistan, UP Manila Chancellor Michael Tee, UPDEPPO Director Patrick De Leon, and UP Tacloban Dean Patricia B. Arinto officially endorsed the Black Friday Protest and encouraged students, youth groups, and faculty to join the wide-scale movement.

Around 5,000 students and faculty gathered at UP Diliman’s Palma Hall with their banners and placards demanding the surface of desaparecidos and increased education financing among other movements.

In UP Manila, more than 600 scholars marched towards Rizal Hall, with an unfinished renovation linked to contractor Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya’s firm that started in 2018, even with a P30 million budget.

They also called for the continuation of overdue construction projects of the universities’ facilities that prompt students to hold online classes and disrupt UP system’s research and public service.

Accountability from the Marcos-Duterte administration for the alleged corruption of government officials from the local government to those with house seats.

After President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. disclosed that 15 contractors related to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood control projects received P100 billion from 2022-2025, the Senate and the House of Representatives have been conducting investigations.

A larger-scale protest against the same social issues will be conducted on September 21, 2025 at Luneta Park.