On the day of national reckoning on the sins of public officials who steal the money of their constituents from the taxes they pay, movie, TV, music, theater and multimedia personalities took to the streets their anger and disgust over corrupt public servants by staging protest rallies at the EDSA People Power Monument for the "Trillion Peso March" and Rizal Park for the "Baha sa Luneta Aksyon na Labanan ang Korapsyon."
Because of this, one of the active members of the film and television community, Dingdong Dantes, and his friends ran for a corruption-free Philippines.
Dingdong led the marathon walk participated in by his wife Marian Rivera, and friends like Dennis Trillo, Jerald Napoles and many more.
"Not the usual Sunday," said Dingdong on that fateful September 21, 2025 that coincided with the 53rd observance of the declaration of Martial Law by the dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, Sr.
Dantes also discussed the current condition of Philippine society in his essay which we quote its excerpts in toto.
"…In one part of the globe, war rages on—neighbors turning against neighbors, families displaced, entire communities torn apart. In another, protests erupt in the streets, swelling into unrest that pits citizens against authority. Elsewhere, governments rise and fall in quick succession, leadership changing hands in the span of a year...
"And I couldn’t help but wonder: isn’t this also the story of humanity? Those who harm society—are they choosing evil, or are they victims of circumstance? Maybe both. Circumstance sparks the fire, but weakness—greed, fear, the thirst for belonging—fans the flame. At the heart of it is the failure to resist corruption, the surrender to darkness. In Walter White’s fall, I see the reflection of our own generation, risking the same decay.
"...somehow, we allowed this. Through silence, inaction, and compromise, we opened the door. We told ourselves it was normal. We convinced ourselves it was inevitable. But it is not normal. And it should never be.
"We—this generation, standing between the past and the future—should know better. And that is why we cannot close our eyes now.
"Dialogue is important, but it must lead to action. And that action begins with accountability. Those entrusted with responsibility must be held to the highest standard...
"...while we wait for our leaders to act, we cannot sit still. Change begins in the small, conscious choices we make—in our homes, in our communities, in our conversations…in our stories...
"...I still believe there are people and leaders out there who have not given up—those who continue to hold on to their integrity, their values, their honor...
"Because if we choose to see, to speak, and to act—then hope will no longer be in doubt. It will be our future."
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