WEB NEWS - Philippines hit by anti-corruption protests
- 11 years ago
Today on the net: anti-corruption protests in the Philippines, Facebook accused of censoring pro-Kurdish content, and Mario and Luigi partaking in a spot of parkour in their free time.
Philippines hit by anti-corruption protests
Tens of thousands of protesters, most of them responding to a call to wear white, took part in demonstrations across the Philippines on Monday, like here in the capital Manila, angry at corruption among their political leaders and demanding more transparency in government spending.
As we can see in these photos posted to social networks, a lot of protesters were also wearing pig masks, in reference to a misused fund for legislators’ pet projects, known as “pork barrel” funds, they want abolished. MPs and senators are supposed to channel this money into local projects, but often use it to impress voters and win support.
A spontaneous movement that started on Facebook and Twitter, where calls to join protests were launched around two weeks ago, following revelations about Janet Lim Napoles, the businesswoman who is accused of working alongside several lawmakers to embezzle millions of dollars from pork barrel funds via fake NGOs. Public anger has been further fueled by the jet set lifestyle led by her daughter who has made no secret in showing off her expensive tastes and belongings via social networks.
These rallies are the largest seen since president Benigno Aquino took office in 2010. He has incidentally responded to this recent wave of protests by promising to abolish the controversial funding system.
Activists call Facebook to stop censoring Kurdish content
Over 2,500 web users have signed this online petition addressed to F... Go on reading on our web site.
http://www.france24.com/en/taxonomy/emission/18008
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Philippines hit by anti-corruption protests
Tens of thousands of protesters, most of them responding to a call to wear white, took part in demonstrations across the Philippines on Monday, like here in the capital Manila, angry at corruption among their political leaders and demanding more transparency in government spending.
As we can see in these photos posted to social networks, a lot of protesters were also wearing pig masks, in reference to a misused fund for legislators’ pet projects, known as “pork barrel” funds, they want abolished. MPs and senators are supposed to channel this money into local projects, but often use it to impress voters and win support.
A spontaneous movement that started on Facebook and Twitter, where calls to join protests were launched around two weeks ago, following revelations about Janet Lim Napoles, the businesswoman who is accused of working alongside several lawmakers to embezzle millions of dollars from pork barrel funds via fake NGOs. Public anger has been further fueled by the jet set lifestyle led by her daughter who has made no secret in showing off her expensive tastes and belongings via social networks.
These rallies are the largest seen since president Benigno Aquino took office in 2010. He has incidentally responded to this recent wave of protests by promising to abolish the controversial funding system.
Activists call Facebook to stop censoring Kurdish content
Over 2,500 web users have signed this online petition addressed to F... Go on reading on our web site.
http://www.france24.com/en/taxonomy/emission/18008
Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en