MANILA, Philippines -- Militants protested in front of the Social Security System building in Quezon City Friday against the government’s national social welfare program for the poor, a radio report said.

The activists managed to vandalize the walls of the SSS building before they could be stopped by security, footage on ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo showed.

They also protested the takeover of Commission on Higher Education chairman Romulo Neri as head of SSS in August.

Neri, who was former socioeconomic planning secretary of the National Economic Development Authority, has been criticized for refusing to implicate President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the allegedly anomalous national broadband network (NBN) agreement forged with a Chinese telecommunications firm.

Neri’s move to SSS has been opposed by various sectors.