Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan)-Central Visayas led progressive groups’ protest at Police Station 3 in Cebu City on October 17 to condemn the police for harassing Cebu’s mass leaders. The leaders were charged for allegedly violating Batas Pambansa 880 (BP 880) or the Public Assembly Act.

The charges stem from an anti-corruption protest at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region VII’s Cebu City District Engineering Office held on September 5. The defendants included Panaghupong-Kadamay’s Nanay Bebe Allere, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Central Visayas’ Jaime Paglinawan, Bayan Muna’s John Ruiz, AMA-SUGBO-KMU’s Howell Villacrucis, among others.

The state has long weaponized BP 880 to suppress the people’s voice and protest. A remnant of the Marcos dictatorship, the law continues to be used against the people today.

After the protest at the police station, the groups defiantly marched to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)-Region 7 to continue denouncing the exposed corruption in infrastructure projects. The protest was also linked to the so-called Black Friday Protest, held weekly by progressive groups across the country.

The House of Representatives recently approved the national budget for 2026, which remains riddled with anomalies and pork barrel allocations, the largest of which went to Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Meanwhile, the regime repeatedly attempted to conceal and derail the investigation into corruption in flood control projects, including tactics employed by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).

On October 17, protests were also held in various provinces such as Nueva Ecija, Rizal, Laguna, Cavite, Batangas, Quezon, and Iloilo. Around 5,000 youth also marched in Mendiola, Manila for the national day of action against corruption.