‘#WOKAWT2025’: UP Visayas students walk out vs corruption, budget cuts

By Juliane Judilla

More than 800 students from the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) simultaneously staged a walkout on Monday, Oct. 6, denouncing corruption and demanding a greater budget for education across the Miagao and Iloilo City campuses.

Led by Pamatan-on Kontra Kurapsyon (PAKK) with the UPV University Student Council, local college councils, and various organizations, the protest highlighted calls for accountability amid alleged corruption in multiple government agencies.

The groups also emphasized the need for a larger education budget, citing consecutive cuts to the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), Department of Education (DepEd), and state universities and colleges (SUCs).

Faculty and nonteaching personnel also joined the protest action.

PAKK convenor Matthew Gonzaga of the National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) Panay reiterated why students and youth should actively participate in walkouts and mass actions.

“The fact that the state prioritizes agencies that violate human rights instead of allocating funds to address classroom and facility shortages, increase teachers’ wages, and ensure access to free and quality education shows a serious neglect of our sector,” Gonzaga said, citing the PHP 42 billion budget for the entire UP System compared with the PHP 600 billion intelligence funds of the Department of National Defense.

“Join PAKK, and join the upcoming walkout on National Students’ Day on November 17!” he added.

The walkout is part of a broader anti-corruption mass action leading up to National Students’ Day, during which students from various universities across Iloilo City are expected to flood the streets with their calls and demands.