An analogy must be made between the recurring Chinese incursions in the West Philippine Sea and the calls by protest groups for an end to corruption in the country. The protesters keep protesting, to no avail, it seems; while the superior Chinese naval and coast guard presence in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone continues unabated.  

Corruption persists because more often than not the perpetrators  are our own elected officials — lawmakers who are lawbreakers, too.

Advocates for defending Philippine sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea through diplomatic and legal means argue that the Philippines must formally protest China’s incursions to avoid being seen as having acquiesced, or tacitly agreed, to its claims.

So, too with the mounting of protests against seemingly humongous forces in our midst that appear to render these protest actions inutile. The obstacles may look formidable, but to turn silent in denouncing corruption would only be admitting defeat and allowing the corrupt to run roughshod over the citizenry and see the inevitable putrefaction of Philippine society.

The question then arises: when the foe is formidable and systemic, and traditional protest seems futile, what is the path for a concerned citizenry?

The answer, obviously, is not to extinguish the flame of dissent but to alter its fuel and its form, shifting from a singular reactive strategy to a multifaceted long-term campaign of resistance, resilience and renewal.

The myth that protest is the mere act of gathering in the streets should be dismantled. In truth, public demonstrations are not only a vital symbol of discontent, but are powerful tools in agenda-setting, in shining a light on issues, including corruption, on who are responsible, and what the people can do.

But first, the citizenry must realize that the foe is systemic. And, to combat such a foe, the light illuminating what ails Philippine society shouldn’t be a fleeting flash but a beam steady, constant, and focused.

Protests — like the second edition of the Trillion Peso March on Sunday by a broad coalition of multisectoral groups with no other motive but the denunciation of pervasive corruption and those responsible for the moral decay in society — must go beyond episodic outrage to a sustained force of civic engagement.

This means investing in the tedious, long-term work of an evidence-based advocacy. With the support of an unbiased media adept at data analysis and facts-based journalism supporting the building of watertight legal cases, protesters could transform from a noisy crowd into a formidable source of credible opposition.

This, hopefully, would turn abstract anger into specific, actionable charges that are hard for the powerful to ignore or dismiss.

There is, too, a war for the people’s hearts and minds.  Systemic corruption thrives in an environment of apathy, misinformation, and a diminished sense of civic self.

The noise of protest action could focus the people’s attention toward what is amiss in our politics and society — but the most crucial battlefields are the classrooms, the community forums, and the family dinner tables.

Anti-corruption efforts must be coupled with a massive civic campaign, patiently, painstakingly educating citizens not just about their rights, but the intricate mechanisms of how corruption operates — from massive pork barrel scams to petty bribery — and how it directly diminishes their lives.

It would be heartening to see the widespread growth of a culture of awareness of people’s rights and integrity from the ground up take hold among Filipinos, making them resistant to the virus of corruption.  

It is a generational endeavor, yes, but it is the only way — short of a violent upheaval — that the foundation where corrupt systems flourish can be eradicated.

Finally, the citizenry should be taught how to undertake strategic political action. A politicized citizenry should realize that for far too long, they have committed errors in choosing whom to trust with their votes of confidence. They must be made to open their eyes to see that the lawmakers, oftentimes, are the very lawbreakers that they have allowed to dampen their chances of attaining a better life for themselves and their children.

This necessitates a shift in target. The objective shouldn’t only be to shame the shameless; the end goal is to kick them out of office and replace them with leaders genuinely deserving of the people’s votes.

This is all hard work, to be sure. But to give up and surrender the cause now is to accept the socioeconomic and political putrefaction that has, for too long, fouled up the country.

For now, the way forward is to make the protests smarter and not just louder; more institutional and not just insurgent; more cultural, not just political.

By combining the moral force of street-level protest with the strategic power of education, political mobilization, and litigation, the flame of dissent will not be quelled but will instead become a steady, guiding light illuminating a path through the long night of corruption, and toward a republic that the people deserve, but that has long eluded them.