Naked UP fratmen stage Oblation Run in Manila vs. pork barrel

Sixty members of the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) on Friday ran naked around the University of the Philippines campus in Manila to condemn the now abolished pork barrel fund system and urge the government to channel more funds to education and health.

 

According to the group, this year's Oblation Run, carrying the title "See-Through: Promoting Transparency in Governance," sought to convince Filipinos to "pressure the government to truly abolish the fund so that it will not be a catalyst again in government corruption."

 

Miguel Custodio, grand chancellor of the APO-UP Manila chapter, told reporters that their group wanted to engage the youth in pressuring the government to be more transparent in the spending of government funds.

 

"Natatago kasi iyong mga nagiging problems at issues sa society... One of them is corruption na nakikita ngayon sa headlines. And we want the youth to at least give their perception or view on what they could say about corruption and abolishing pork barrel," he said.

 

Custodio said their group wanted a "more visible" mechanism to show how government funds from the national coffers trickle down to the local governments units, and to their constituents. 

 

Last November, the Supreme Court unanimously voted to strike down the Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel system as unconstitutional.

 

"Iyong pork barrel, kung nagkakaroon ng corruption doon, naaapektuhan na iyong youth at iyong education sector and we want na malabas nila ang perception nila about it," said Custodio.

 

The Oblation Run started at around 12:30 p.m., with naked APO members, whose faces were covered with black cloth and masks, coming down the stairs of the Rizal Hall lobby and proceeding in front of the building where they chanted while flashing placards. 

 

The placards contained words criticizing local officials fond of putting their names in government projects. "Libreng Libing - Congressman Bob Uy. Na naman?" and "Continuous Dredging - Bob Uy. Na naman?," read some of the placards.

 

Since its launch in 1977, the Oblation Run (or “Ritual Dance of the Brave”) has been participated in by APO members from various universities and colleges nationwide to highlight pressing national issues, including human rights violations; corruption in government; justice for the victims of the Maguindanao massacre; the investigation of the 2010 Philippine Bar exam bombing and justice for its victims; the call to stop climate change; and, in 2013, to ask for nationwide support for the rehabilitation of the Yolanda-ravaged UPM School of Health Sciences in Leyte. —KG, GMA News