What is keeping Filipinos from protesting like the French?

Members of civil society coalitions, youth, and anti-corruption groups hold a protest at the EDSA People Power Monument in Quezon City on September 21, 2025, to condemn systemic corruption in the country. The groups demand accountability from the government for the alleged widespread corruption and call for mass-oriented solutions to the crises plaguing the nation. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News 

MANILA — Hundreds of thousands of French protesters have taken to the streets of Paris and other cities, as protests continue against the education crisis and rising cost of living.

The youth, who since September have voiced demands for action on deteriorating education conditions and lack of funding, were joined by unions and progressive organizations in mass demonstrations that eventually erupted into riots, mass looting, and fires. 

Amid police arrests and violence against protesters, the demonstrations continue in France and are spreading in nearby European countries.

The Philippines is also grappling with an education crisis, rising fuel costs, and high inflation rates.  

But while the French have been protesting for weeks, Filipinos face hurdles in airing their frustrations over the decades-long social issues that plague the country, experts and advocates said.

France’s history of resistance dates back centuries. Its most prominent act of resistance was the French Revolution that overturned the monarchy in favor of democracy. 

“Kumbaga ‘nasa sistema na namin na (It is already in our system that) if there is something wrong, it is our inherent right to protest,’” said Jeremy Clemente, historian and lecturer from De La Salle University, said of the French.

Over the centuries, the French have exercised their right to expression and has actively participated in social movements. 

The Philippines, too, has a long history of resistance dating back to Spanish colonialism.

Resistance remained present during the American and Japanese occupation periods, and the Martial Law era in the late 20th century.  

Despite similar histories, the Philippine has shown lower rates of organizing and joining demonstrations. 

UP Sociology Assistant Professor Yvan Yonaha, citing the World Values Survey for 2017 to 2022, said only 20 percent of Filipinos surveyed have joined a labor union.

Of those few, 8.3 percent are inactive. 

Headquarters of Confédération Générale du Travail, one of five large labor confederations in France. CGT had reported membership of 640,000 in 2022. Its headquarters in Montreuil hosts the offices of its affiliate unions. ABS-CBN News

In France, more than 40 percent have attended lawful demonstrations, far above the Philippines’ 10 percent.

Over 27 percent of the French said they would never attend a demonstration, while 60 percent of Filipinos said the same. 

Clemente noted that successful revolutions in Philippine history were “aborted prematurely.”

Americans came in after the Spaniards left in 1898, while the “promises” of the EDSA People Power Revolution — which successfully ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. — “appeared unfulfilled.”

Clemente said Marcos may have been ousted but the Philippines “allowed the oligarchies back in.”

That he said, has led to “apathy” toward social problems, he said.

“Ano ba talaga ang nabago? Nagpalit lang ng mukha pero the system still remains. So eventually people got fed up, na may naaabot ba yung pagpoprotesta ko?” Clemente said. 

(What really changed? The faces were different but the system still remains. So eventually people got fed up, thinking ‘Does my protesting even accomplish anything?’)

France, in contrast, had years to build a new system after the monarchy was demolished, dismantling counter-revolutionaries, including the influential Church, said Clemente.  

Yonaha, citing a study by Anthony Lawrence Borja, Ador Torneo and Ian Jayson Hecita, underscored that Filipinos have felt a “political powerlessness” because “the government is not responsive” to protests. 

The sociologist also cited long-term unresolved problems “that are very close to the hearts of Filipinos,” such as inequality, contractualization, and the lack of land reform and social protection mechanisms. 

National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) Chairperson Sofia Jan Trinidad underscored that despite a rise in anti-corruption protests centered on the multibillion-peso flood control corruption scandal last year, there remains a continued lack of accountability from those liable. 

“It’s an unending cycle that would really make us tired, it would really make us feel hopeless,” she said.

Commuters wait for a ride along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City on Tuesday. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

Historian Clemente noted that Filipinos’ hesitation to get involved in social movements also stems from the general fatigue of facing daily struggles — lack of job security, inflation, poor public transportation, and more. 

“The system has completely screwed everyone up to actually demand change and do something for change. It has rather become very, very exhausting,” he said. 

People prefer to act on things that have guaranteed results and not protests where calls may be left unheard. 

Meanwhile, those living a privileged life are scared to risk their resources to demand more from the government, Clemente said.  

“I think it’s really a very human nature. It could be very selfish. It could be very practical. It’s not because they don’t care. But there is a human dimension for their apathy,” he said. 

Clemente noted that protests and political action have had negative connotations since Spanish colonization.

The execution of Filipino Catholic priests Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, and Jacinto Zamora (Gomburza) in 1872 ignited rebellion against Spain, but also caused a “collective trauma” among Filipinos.

“They are very influential people in society, parang kung kaya nilang bibitayin yung pare, paano pa kaya akong regular na tao?” Clemente said of the message it sent.

(If they can kill a priest, what about regular people like me?)

Atrocities during the Japanese occupation and Martial Law era, where Filipinos were tortured for dissenting against the government, also brought trauma to Filipinos, he said.  

Sociologist Yonaha noted that the government has also worked to delegitimize the public’s efforts to organize by red-tagging — or associating them with the subversives and terrorists — and labelling their activities as “nothing more but noise.”

These while mass organizations also struggle to find resources for campaigns.

Youth group Anakbayan meanwhile pointed out that “police brutality, intimidation, surveillance, red-tagging and others are becoming more systematized.”

The organization added that “propaganda” has spread to people’s daily lives to “either make fun of those who protest, belittle its importance” and make being an activist a “derogatory” label.

NUSP’s Trinidad said expression of dissent by Filipino youth has been hindered by fear caused by “repression” that also comes from schools, which tend to discourage it.

“We don’t blame [the students] for that actually. Kasi normal yan, normal na matakot (It is normal to be afraid),” she said.

Four students from the University of Santo Tomas were recently suspended following complaints from the Philippine Air Force and from an alumnus over a confrontation during an exhibit at the university in April this year, The Varsitarian, UST’s official publication reports. 

The PAF has denied filing a complaint against the students.

Anakbayan noted that the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) “has imposed itself” on the education system and accuses students critical of government as “communists” and “terrorists.”

Yonaha also said that the educational setting in the Philippines does not provide enough civic spaces for students to feel confidence and safety in speaking up against injustices. 

“The grievances are there… but the resources to participate are not,” he said. 

Thousands of members of various progressive groups march along Commonwealth Avenue toward Capitol Estate 1 in Quezon City on Monday, July 27, 2026, ahead of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA). Protesters raised issues on governance, corruption, and other concerns affecting the Filipino people. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News As Filipinos continue facing daily struggles, “it is only a matter of time before a mass protest similar to the French will occur in the Philippines”, Anakbayan said .

It noted that Filipinos today face the same issues that they did during the First Quarter Storm in early 1970, when thousands of students, peasants and workers participated in mass protests over education system failure, oil prices, government debt and rising inflation.

The Department of Education has acknowledged a severe literacy crisis, while resources — classrooms, buildings, textbooks, faculty and non-faculty personnel — remain scarce. 

Education Secretary Sonny Angara has said the country is short by more than 150,000 classrooms nationwide. 

Only 22 out of the 1,700 target classrooms were built, while 900 were pending in 2025. The Department of Public Works and Highways said it aims to complete at least 9,000 classrooms by 2026. 

Students, especially those from poor communities, receive insufficient support from the government to finish their basic education. 

The peso has recently hit a record low of P64 against the dollar. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government had “all the means” to continue defending the peso, including “healthy” foreign exchange reserves. 

Inflation surged from 6.1 percent in August to 7.2 percent in September as food and transport prices continue to soar.

The government’s debt rose to P19.61 trillion as of August, which is 10.72 percent above last year’s P17.71 trillion.

Meanwhile, a watchdog has flagged billions worth of “red flag” items allegedly added by House of Representatives lawmakers in the proposed 2027 national budget.

NUSP’s Trinidad said that sectors affected by the country’s crises should work together to fight for decent living conditions, bigger funding and better access to basic social services to ease the plights of ordinary Filipinos.

The youth representative called for a higher budget allocation for the education sector. 

She said officials should “touch grass” and learn the struggles of Filipino students, faculty and other stakeholders, adding that “usually, the policies [lawmakers] pass are very out of touch.”

“Ultimately, yung pagbabago na iyan ay hindi natin ma-achieve kung hindi tayo kikilos, kung hindi tayo lalabas din sa pamantasan, sa mga university,” Trinidad said. 

(Ultimately, these changes will not be achieved if we don’t take action, if we don’t go outside the university.)