Former Bayan Muna Rep. and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Chair Teodoro ‘Teddy’ Casiño on Monday said that mass actions must be escalated to ‘hold the government hostage’ amid corruption scandals.
‘We need to unite, through paralyzing protests. Walkouts, barricades, nationwide strikes, and acts of civil disobedience such as tax non-payment. And of course, a giant rally that will not end until the corrupt are removed from office,’ Casiño said in Filipino during the anti-corruption rally in Mendiola.
In an interview with the Inquirer, Casiño explained that the ordinary mass actions are no longer enough, and that the people must have ‘paralyzing actions’ to ‘hold the government hostage.’
He later clarified that these actions are not necessarily violent.
When we say paralyzing actions, we don’t mean violent actions, but the actions that the government can no longer handle. That’s what protest actions should be. Otherwise, we will be back to the same pattern and a few years from now, another anomaly will erupt, and the reaction will be the same, so we have to do things differently,’ he pointed out.
Casiño said these actions may include rallies on key roads, paralyzing the transport system and communication systems, or withholding tax payments until the government does its job.
‘They won’t just come down. We need to pull them down,’ he told the crowd in Mendiola, referring to government officials and political dynasties. /gsg