By Angel Kate C. Alag
“The youth is the hope of the motherland,” a prominent phrase by the Philippine National Hero, Jose Rizal. Youth are presumed to submit, support, and serve as the backbone of the nation. Yet, what does it mean to bend the system? Is it a revolution or a reformation?
History repeats itself
In Rizal’s time, the sinister shadows of Spain’s decadence darkened the Philippine skies. It was a series of oppression, maladministration of justice, and corruption that weakened the stability of the Filipino people, leading to revolution. However, there is a dispute over whether Rizal is a hero or an anti-hero for not participating in the revolution. Nonetheless, in his manifesto, he emphasized the importance of education in achieving liberty. Most importantly, he believed that to be fruitful, reforms must come from above, while those that come from below are shaky, irregular, and uncertain. His espousal was reformation through education.
Throughout its history, the country has suffered under the deceit of unscrupulous administrations. Today, the floods expose the misappropriation of public funds—money that the Filipino people worked hard to earn, only to feed the greed of the powerful and the elite. Some floods are blessings indeed. They expose the dirt, ghosts, and impurity of the government that we thought would protect the people.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) disclosed that, upon inspecting roughly 8,000 structures, it discovered at least 421 “ghost” or nonexistent projects, primarily related to flood control. A flood control project is a structure designed to protect lives and property from flooding, especially in a country where typhoons are a common occurrence. However, the truth was obscured by the underhanded schemes of the so-called bureaucrats.
Redress of grievances
“The youth say this is where your taxes go. Ghosts are taking the people’s money.” (Khylla Meneses, Secretary-General of Akbayan Youth)
Following the exposure of the government’s mismanagement, the youth, together with students from several universities, gathered to demand accountability. One of the most prominent demonstrations, attended by artists, social media influencers, taxpayers, and students, was the Trillion Peso March movement. It launched the first of its weekly Friday protests against corruption on October 10, 2025, as part of the buildup to a nationwide rally on November 30, 2025. Its purpose was to expose the anomalies behind the ghost projects that endanger the lives of the Filipino people whenever typhoons begin to pour.
As a democratic nation, sovereignty resides in the people, who retain the authority to criticize the government when its acts become capricious or inconsistent with the Constitution. The Constitution safeguards this authority through the people’s right to assemble peaceably and to petition the government for redress of grievances, as expressly guaranteed under Article III, Section 4 of the 1987 Constitution. The essence of democracy is to preserve the supreme welfare of the people – salus populi est suprema lex.
Activism is not rebellion
However, what does it mean to bend the system?
During the dark days of the Japanese invasion in 1941, Wenceslao Vinzons rose as a beacon of youthful courage, leading his fellow students in defiance and in the fight for freedom through the power of activism. History would later remember him as the Father of Student Activism, a title earned not through privilege, but through conviction and intellect. His vision was one of moral governance and righteous leadership, a government rooted in justice rather than self-interest.
Vinzons pursued his studies at the University of the Philippines-Diliman (UPD), where he graduated with honors from the College of Law and placed third in the 1933 Bar Examinations. Within the university halls, he was celebrated as a masterful declaimer, a sharp debater, and a prolific writer. He led mass movements against the complacency and corruption of lawmakers, giving voice to a generation that refused to remain silent in the face of injustice.
His motivation as a demonstrator was simple yet profound: to challenge an unjust system and corrupt leadership. Vinzons chose not the path of violence but of intellect, wielding reason as his weapon and truth as his cause. He embodied the spirit of youth that believes in reform, not rebellion, and demonstration embedded in courage and conscience.
Activism connotes Rebellion. Hence, the infusions are sui generis. Rebellion is a bloody revolution that causes the loss of lives of civilians, while the advocacy remains untouched. Activism is not defiance but duty. The exercise of a fundamental right to seek redress from a government that must serve the people, not its own avarice. It stands as a moral force that calls for accountability when integrity in leadership falters.
Reformation through education
“Educating the youth, through formal instruction, on the right to vote and the electoral systems that safeguard such is one of the most effective approaches to ensure that they are aware of how to contribute to nation-building.” (Former Senator Miriam Santiago, author of the Compulsory Voter Education Act)
Corrupt politicians are afraid of educated voters. Through his profound sentiment and his novels, Jose Rizal sought to eradicate oppression by exposing, through fiction, the injustices and corruption that plagued the society of his era.
Today, students from various academic institutions, exercising their fundamental freedoms of expression, speech, and writing, strive to eradicate corruption by educating the public and exposing the truth behind the schemes of those in power. The youth of today are not blind; they know that education and integrity cannot be bought with money or swayed by influence.
Activism starts within you
It is more tangible and just to fight not with blood and sword, but with sweat and pen. Reformation may be a gradual process, yet it is the most sound and enduring path toward genuine change. Revolution, on the other hand, is a swift descent into bloodshed in the pursuit of clean governance. How can we expect moral victory from a struggle waged in blood?
The fight for honest leadership, equal opportunity for the marginalized, and the eradication of corruption and poverty may seem endless. However, in a revolution through reformation, and reformation through education, a transformation is borne not out of violence but out of enlightenment — when the youth learn to abhor deceit and uphold the integrity of learning, activism begins not in the streets, but within oneself.
Because liberty is not about doing whatever you want; it is when you do what is right.
REFERENCE :
https://nhcp.gov.ph/jose-rizal-and-the-revolution
https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/5/youth-groups-hold-ghost-hunting-protest-vs-flood-control-corruption-1309https://opinion.inquirer.net/186405/wenceslao-vinzons-and-the-forgotten-nation