About 30 young college men (18-22) ran naked through the streets at 10:30 a.m. covering their faces with their shirts to disguise their identities. They were running around the University Belt in Manila protesting unchecked raises in tuition cost and poor government funding for education.

These young men are all out of school, they all belong to the Alyansa ng Nagkakaisang Lakas ng Kabataan, or Alyansa. This action was meant to send a message revealing the state of Philippine education which they claim is in a state of decline. The protestors claim that the same protest occurred at the same time in cities like Davao, General Santos City and Zamboanga.

Forty percent of the nation’s budget goes to debt servicing, instead of education, which the country’s constitution states must have priority over everything else. Alyansa’s national chairperson, Joboy Tecson, stated that “education deserves more from the government.” The Philippines invest only 2.7 percent of its gross national product towards education. The protestors are asking their government to make notice of the 13 million young people forced to leave school due to unchecked tuition hikes and lack of attention from the authorities.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was harshly criticized by the group for what they call “make-believe” efforts to support education when more and more students are forced to leave school. Alyansa stated, “The naked truth is that this government's political survival remains its priority over basic services. This is reflective to the priority (given by) government in its national budget and policies.”