28 November 2025
LEUVEN, BELGIUM – Filipino students from the world's oldest Catholic University held a prayerful protest to denounce the systemic corruption and culture of impunity in the Philippines. Through prayers, songs, speeches, and poetry, they called for transparency and accountability in the Philippine government.
The event, organized by theology students, brought together students and professors from different departments, as well as Filipino migrants in Belgium. It was held in solidarity with Filipinos demanding answers over irregularities in the country's flood-control projects.
Participants reflected on the widespread impact of corruption and impunity across various fields such as ecology, education, public health, and political culture. They also drew on the Scriptures and Catholic Social Teachings to emphasize the moral and spiritual duties of justice, collective responsibility, and sustained institutional reform, while upholding hope in God's righteousness during these challenging times.
Photos and Statement: KU Leuven Students
Caption: Fr. Ansley
FILIPINO STUDENTS OF KU LEUVEN
STATEMENT ON CORRUPTION AND IMPUNITY IN THE PHILIPPINES
28 November 2025
We, the Filipino students of Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KU Leuven) in Belgium, express our solidarity with our fellow citizens in the Philippines as we condemn the pervading culture of corruption and impunity. Corruption is an abuse of power and authority, which erodes the dignity, rights, and future of our people. For decades, our nation has been paralyzed by systemic corruption – tolerated, normalized, and even rewarded. These are not merely political failures or legal violations. They are grave moral and spiritual disorders that contradict the love of God, the charity owed to one’s neighbor, and our shared responsibility to protect creation. They constitute both personal sin and social-structural sin, and call for individual conversion and societal transformation.
Recent events have once again laid bare the depth and magnitude of this problem. The proliferation of ‘ghost’ flood-control and infrastructure projects and ‘ghost employees’, overpriced public bidding, the shameless misuse of confidential funds, and the persistent lack of accountability in government agencies exemplify how impunity has deeply taken root in our society. These failures are not isolated incidents. They form part of a long, painful pattern spanning multiple administrations. From electoral fraud scandals, massive pork-barrel theft, politically motivated violence, and the weaponization of disinformation campaigns, to the deadly consequences of state-sponsored human rights abuses, successive governments have allowed this cancer of corruption to grow and expand by downplaying professional competence, by emphasizing popularity over integrity, and by reducing everything into a political power-play bereft of solid moral grounding and sense of accountability.
At the core of this crisis is the unchecked influence of political dynasties that dominate our electoral system. Despite the constitutional mandate to prohibit dynasties, regional patronage and personality politics have promoted an oligarchy motivated by the idolatry of power, wealth, and fame. This political culture has resulted in democratically elected officials catering to their own interests rather than the common good of the country. This concentration of power enables impunity, weakens democratic institutions, distorts national priorities, and deepens social inequality. It has led to alarming underinvestment in education and healthcare services, which drags national development behind and reinforces the politicians’ disinformation machineries designed to manipulate public opinion. In turn, poverty persists, forcing millions of Filipinos to migrate elsewhere in search of a dignified life and better economic state.
We therefore call upon all Filipinos to demand that the common good, transparency, accountability, social justice, truth, and the rule of law become the non-negotiable moral criteria and guiding compass for our public life. Public office is a public trust. Professionalism, ethical leadership, and responsible governance must be set as the real hallmarks of a true political authority. We likewise reject all extra-constitutional and violent means of seizing or exercising power and authority to lead our nation.
In pursuit of this vision, we strongly urge the following:
- Electoral reform to promote principled, people-centered, program-based political parties by restricting political ‘butterflies’ from transferring to other political parties and legislating an anti-political dynasty law.
- Prosecute pertinent government officials and accomplices involved in recent corruption scandals. Stolen public money must be recovered to fund priority social programmes and projects that directly serve the people.
- Strengthen civic institutions and civil society organizations to counter government corruption through rigorous transparency mechanisms, ethical governance standards, and ongoing moral self-examination.
- Increase avenues for participation of ordinary citizens in democratic processes through civic formation efforts to counter corrupt practices like vote-buying, resist disinformation, and critically evaluate political candidates.
As Filipino students, we commit ourselves to live with moral integrity, accountability, a sense of justice, truth-telling, and active solidarity. We commit to refusing tolerance or normalization of corruption in any form. With moral hope grounded in faith in God and in justice, we envision a Filipino nation where integrity prevails, democratic institutions truly serve the common good, and the dignity of every person is respected and protected without exception.
