Post by Peskador
On one side of Southeast Asia, turmoil has been taking place as thousands of Indonesian protesters marched the streets of Jakarta following the reports of suggested significant housing allocations for legislators, clamoring for the elimination of such extreme allowances and other benefits, and for greater wages for the nation’s labor force.
On the other hand, across the sea in the Philippines, intense outrage swamped social networks as Filipinos called out the extravagant way of livings of corrupt political leaders, contractors of government-funded projects, and their ‘nepo babies’, wondering about if these way of lives were being funded by taxpayer cash. When powerholders live extravagantly while the masses battle, the people can not be blamed for the ultimate climbing against deceptiveness.
What Sparked Public Outrage for Both Nations
After reports of all 580 participants of Indonesia’s House of Representatives obtaining monthly housing allocations and other advantages that raked approximately regarding fifty million rupiah– nearly ten times greater than the regular monthly base pay of roughly 5 million rupiah in Jakarta– started turning out, angry Indonesians took to the streets to protest the unfairness of giving such benefits to those that are currently far more fortunate than the average Indonesian. According to Indonesia’s Central Data Agency (BPS), most Indonesians deal with the struggle of living in poverty as of March 2025, despite Indonesia being the Southeast Eastern country with the biggest economy, with a Gdp of roughly 1 4 trillion United States dollars, as reported by the Globe Financial institution. These stats give a well-defined image of the financial variations in between the ordinary Indonesian person and those in power.
There was likewise the death of Affan Kurniawan, a 21 -year-old ride-share motorbike driver, that was strongly killed by authorities in an armored cars and truck that persistently ran over his fallen body rather than quiting. Authorities have actually also turned to making use of rubber bullets and tear gas on demonstrators, which increased the fury of activists. In addition, when Indonesian Head of state Prabowo Subianto warned that the police and armed force would certainly continue to be steadfast amidst the ongoing objections, much more salt was added to the injury as a result of the absence of proper responsibility for the blatant program of police cruelty and the armed force’s interference in Indonesians’ lives.
Equally, let us reflect to the Philippines’ State of the Nation Address simply lately in July this year, where federal government officials in charge of malfunctioning flood-control jobs were condemned and an examination into the origin of such incompetence was introduced. When the interviews of veteran reporters with Sarah and Curlee Discaya went viral amongst Filipino netizens complying with Pasig City mayor Vico Sotto’s objection of well-known reporters being paid generous amounts of cash to talk to contractors entering national politics via his Facebook post on August 21, individuals were interrupted by the Discayas’ discovery that their affluence grew when they functioned as contractors for the Division of Public Functions and Freeways (DPWH). Following this uncovering, Filipinos began digging deeper right into the way of lives of other federal government authorities, and also their youngsters. Flaunting their treasures online made it easy for netizens to reveal simply how deep corruption runs in the nation.
Think of figuring out that the taxes one pays are funding the grand lifestyles of the actual people who are supposed to be allotting these funds to projects that can benefit the general public. However, for Filipinos, this is not imaginary nor some imaginary message pulled out of a book, it’s genuine, it’s living, and it’s systemic and long-lasting! And while the ‘nepo infants’ and their family members flaunt their designer clothing and bags, their vast range of luxury cars and trucks, the many nations that they have traveled to on their private jets, and many more of their product items that flaunt their wealth on social media sites, the ordinary Filipino has a hard time to pay for also basic necessities like food, water, and so forth for our daily lives.
Filipinos are not enraged, neither are they envious that these clowns in fits possess such unbelievably costly possessions; they are infuriated at the fact that there is a clear misappropriation of funds that are intended to be put into basic services and tasks by the government that must’ve been offered to the masses ages ago.
Same Very same
Despite various histories behind us, the Philippines and Indonesia encounter the same democratic struggles. After having undertaken and toppled tyrannical regimes, both nations have made considerable autonomous gains. Nonetheless, it can not be refuted that our freedoms remain under stress. Both the Philippines and Indonesia have regularly been categorized as “problematic democracies” on the Democracy Index, scoring 6 63 and 6 44 respectively in 2025, making both countries qualified for the classification.
Obviously, those aforementioned numbers are not the only signs of the freedoms of the Philippines and Indonesia. Both have had their own share of instances where the federal government violated the rights of the citizens it vowed to offer. During the current nationwide objections in Indonesia, as an example, citizens reported that the federal government exercised media censorship by taking greater than fifty nationwide TV terminals off-air, disabling public CCTV, and obstructing accessibility to live features on social media sites systems like TikTok and Instagram. Such measures disclose how fragile democratic freedoms stay.
Likewise, the Philippines has had a lengthy history of media censorship, most significantly during the program of the late previous president and authoritarian Ferdinand Marcos Sr., whose Martial Regulation age was noted by severe censorship and requisition of the media to manipulate public opinion into sending to Marcos’ orders and whims. In addition, suppression of freedom of expression still carries real for Filipinos to this very day, with regarding 147 journalists having been killed even after freedom was brought back in the nation in 1986 Nonetheless, the fact still continues to be that the country stays to be among the deadliest nations for media experts, ranking 116 th out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders’ Globe Press Freedom Index. This truth demonstrates how amidst an effort to restore democratic suitables, by having the very same elites take control, freedom and its foundations would certainly continue to be weak, moreso hostile.
Different, But Not Quite
Despite the similarities in between Indonesia and the Philippines, it does make one marvel: what stops the Filipino people from revolting versus the injustices by the government, like exactly how Indonesians are currently doing it? Taking into consideration that very early Filipino revolutionists rebelled versus and defended self-reliance from the Spanish, American, and Japanese emigrations, and when Filipinos from 1986 jointly ousted the dictator Marcos and restored freedom in our nation, the Philippines is no stranger to revolution and standing up to corrupt forces that threaten to disrupt our freedom.
The response is basic on the surface yet does not tell underlying complexities: individuals are afraid. Past concern, weak governmental establishments, fragmented opposition, and deeply entrenched patronage politics additionally sap the momentum for mass revolt or perhaps awakening of innovative goals or empathy to the protestors. It is not fair to place the blame on the Filipino masses for not requiring to the streets like the Indonesian individuals have when countless threats torment our society. With red-tagging, apprehensions, and even murder now widespread, it is just natural that the regular Filipino would certainly feel as well daunted to also do so high as criticize powerful federal government figures in worry of meeting the destinies of those who dared to examine the misdeeds of the government.
Besides, it is not as if the Filipino people have been not doing anything to demand liability from the government in today time. The current calling out of the lush way of livings of nepo babies and their family members on social networks is one means to show this. While electronic demonstrations might appear superficial and performative to some, it is a terrific indicator of the awareness awakening from what was when a detached demeanor of the masses. For instance, the Filipinos’ indignation at the Discayas’ contracting dispute had the ability to drive legislators to summon Sarah Discaya to a Senate hearing on Monday, September 1, regarding flooding control projects, and her partner, together with various other government service providers and DPWH execs, to the Senate’s next hearing on September 8 And this goes to reveal that when the public, the sovereign is angered, those in power become trembled and ultimately revealed.
Wishes to See in the Future
Instead of believing that the Filipinos are powerless against the corrupt forces pleasantly sitting in office, allow us think back to the Indonesian individuals, that remain to demand good governance and fairer treatment for themselves via the protests that they have actually done on the streets. The Filipinos need to begin someplace for it to escalate right into something greater. If Indonesians can demand much better, so can the Filipinos. The battle starts with each people recognizing that joining the long-lasting struggle is the method to take apart and place these clowns at the general public craze’s blade!