Million People March demands abolition of pork barrel after Napoles exposé

On August 26, 2013, the Million People March drew tens of thousands of Filipinos to Rizal Park in Manila and to simultaneous gatherings in cities nationwide. The rally was organized largely through social media in the weeks following a series of Philippine Daily Inquirer investigative reports detailing the diversion of Priority Development Assistance Fund allocations through a network of bogus non-governmental organizations allegedly controlled by Janet Lim Napoles. Whistleblower testimony from Benhur Luy and others described how legislators' PDAF allocations were funnelled into the bogus NGOs, with kickbacks returned to the legislators and a percentage retained by Napoles's JLN Group of Companies. A Commission on Audit special audit released that month covering 2007 to 2009 documented approximately P10 billion in PDAF allocations that were not delivered to the intended beneficiaries. The audit findings, combined with whistleblower testimony, formed the evidentiary basis for plunder complaints filed at the Office of the Ombudsman against multiple senators and representatives. The Supreme Court declared PDAF unconstitutional in November 2013. Subsequent legal proceedings against Napoles, several senators, and other parties produced a mix of convictions, acquittals, and pending cases that remain in litigation more than a decade later.