Maria Virginia Sy

UP Manila Oblation Run calls out corruption in government, demands justice for victims of massive flooding

Article (news)

Maria Tan

ABS-CBN News

Around 100 masked members of the local chapter of the Alpha Phi Omega (APO) fraternity ran around the Rizal Hall of the University of the Philippines Manila campus on Friday, keeping alive a tradition that has long mixed protest with spectacle. As APO marks its 100th founding anniversary, this year’s Oblation Run turned the campus into a moving call for justice.With bodies bared, faces covered, and placards held high, the runners carried a singular message: “Nilunod. Nilugmok. Ninakawan. Sigaw ng Bayan: Katarungan!” <div>They passed through the corridors of the College of Arts and Sciences as students, faculty members, hospital workers, and staff stopped to watch—some raising phones, others quietly reading the words written on cardboard and skin. <img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176553537731320251212-up-oblation-run-MT10.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Members of the UP Manila’s Alpha Phi Omega (APO) fraternity hold its annual Oblation Run on Friday, December 12, 2025, as part of the organization’s 100th founding anniversary.  Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News</div>&quot;Maraming Pilipino ang nalulunod—hindi lang sa baha, kundi sa kapabayaan at kawalan ng tiwala,&quot; said APO UP Manila Grand Chancellor Dean H. Cruz.&quot;Habang patuloy ang ulan, may mga kababayan tayong hindi na makahinga dahil iniwan sila ng sistemang dapat sana’y nagpoprotekta sa kanila. Hindi kami maaaring manahimik hangga’t may mga desisyong walang plano, proyekto na walang pananagutan, at pamahalaang hindi mapagkakatiwalaan. Ang Oblation Run ay hindi palabas o gimmick—ito ay panata. Hubad ang aming mga katawan, pero hindi ang aming prinsipyo; hubad sa takot, ngunit hindi sa pagsunod. Hangga’t may ninanakaw, may sinungaling, at may buhay na napapabayaan, patuloy kaming tatakbo at magsasalita para sa bayan.” The route circled a building that has become its own symbol of delay: the College of Arts and Sciences, long linked to the stalled Discayas renovation project. For the organizers, the unfinished structure reflects broader issues they want to surface—questions of accountability, public funds, and justice left unresolved.&quot;Mga kababayan ko, huwag nating hayaang mamatay ang isyung ito. Huwag natin itong hayaang malunod sa ingay ng propaganda at patahimikin ng mga sigaw ng mga binugbog, dinukot, at nilubog sa inhustisya,&quot; Cruz said.&quot;Para sa mga ganid at magnanakaw na humahawak sa kapalaran ng bansa, at sa mga pumirma ng mga papel sa ngalan ng mamamayan—makinig kayo. Ibalik ninyo ang dangal ng bayan. Isauli ang ninakaw sa sambayanang Pilipino. Ikulong ang mga kriminal. At ipadama sa kanila ang bigat ng pagkalubog sa utang at kahirapan na araw-araw na dinaranas ng karaniwang Pilipino.”Decades after the Oblation Run first emerged as an act of dissent, the protest returns in APO’s centennial year with the same urgency. <div>The message is familiar but unchanged: traditions may endure, but so do unresolved injustices—and some promises, like buildings left unfinished, continue to wait for answers <img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176553544925020251212-up-oblation-run-MT12.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News </div>

With bodies bared, faces covered, and placards held high, the runners carried a singular message: “Nilunod. Nilugmok. Ninakawan. Sigaw ng Bayan: Katarungan!”

With bodies bared, faces covered, and placards held high, the runners carried a singular message: “Nilunod. Nilugmok. Ninakawan. Sigaw ng Bayan: Katarungan!”

UP Manila Oblation Run calls out corruption in government, demands justice for flood victims

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UP Manila Oblation Run calls out corruption in government, demands justice for flood victims

Maria Tan,

ABS-CBN News

Published Dec 12, 2025 05:52 PM PHT

|

Updated Dec 12, 2025 06:31 PM PHT

Read More:

UP Manila

APO

Oblation Run

corruption

ghost flood control projest

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