Members of the non secular sect Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) collect throughout a three-day anti-corruption rally at Manila’s Rizal Park, Philippines on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025.
Mark Cristino/AP
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Mark Cristino/AP
MANILA, Philippines — Lots of of 1000’s of Filipinos gathered Sunday within the capital within the largest rally to date to demand accountability for a flood-control corruption scandal that has implicated highly effective members of Congress and prime authorities officers.
Numerous teams have protested in current months following the invention that 1000’s of flood protection initiatives throughout one of many world’s most typhoon-prone international locations had been substandard, incomplete or just didn’t exist.
Authorities engineers, public works officers and development firm executives have testified underneath oath in hearings by the Senate and a fact-finding fee that members of Congress and officers on the Division of Public Works and Highways took kickbacks from development corporations to assist them win profitable contracts and keep away from accountability. Most denied the allegations.
Inside Secretary Jonvic Remulla stated about 320,000 members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo, or Church of Christ, led the beginning of the three-day rally in Manila’s Rizal Park, many sporting white and carrying anti-corruption placards. Lots of, together with retired generals, held a separate anti-corruption protest late Sunday on the “Individuals Energy” monument in suburban Quezon metropolis.
Iglesia is an influential group that votes as a bloc and is courted by political candidates throughout elections.
The police, backed by the navy, went on full alert and deployed 1000’s of personnel to safe the weekend rallies, though the federal government expects them to be peaceable, based on a confidential safety evaluation seen by The Related Press.
Throughout a Sept. 21 anti-corruption demonstration, a couple of hundred black-clad protesters threw rocks, bottles and firebombs at police close to the presidential palace in Manila, injuring greater than 100 officers. Felony complaints have been filed in opposition to 97 protesters.
A member of the non secular sect Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ) appears to be like on throughout a three-day anti-corruption rally at Manila’s Rizal Park, Philippines on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025.
Mark Cristino/AP
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Mark Cristino/AP
The presidential palace went on safety lockdown over the weekend, with main entry roads barricaded by anti-riot police, cargo containers and barbed wires.
Nationwide police chief Lt. Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. ordered regulation enforcement to train “most tolerance” in Sunday’s rallies.
Marcos guarantees fast motion as outrage over corruption grows
Flood management is an particularly delicate situation within the Philippines, one among Asian international locations most vulnerable to lethal typhoons, flooding and excessive climate. Two typhoons left not less than 259 useless this month, largely from flash floods and landslides, and affected hundreds of thousands of others.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has been attempting to quell public outrage and road protests sparked by the scandal, saying on Thursday that lots of the highly effective senators, members of Congress and rich businesspeople who had been implicated can be in jail by Christmas.
Marcos stated an unbiased fact-finding fee he created has already filed legal complaints for graft and corruption and plunder in opposition to 37 suspects. Felony complaints have additionally been filed in opposition to 86 development firm executives and 9 authorities officers for allegedly evading almost 9 billion pesos ($152 million) in taxes.
Amongst these accused are lawmakers against and allied with Marcos, together with former Home of Representatives Speaker Martin Romualdez, the president’s cousin and a key ally; and former Senate President Chiz Escudero. Each have denied any wrongdoing.
Sen. Bong Go, a key ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte, has additionally been accused of involvement in corruption in flood management and different infrastructure initiatives. He has denied the allegations.
Duterte, a harsh Marcos critic, was detained by the Worldwide Felony Court docket within the Netherlands in March for alleged crimes in opposition to humanity over his brutal anti-drugs crackdowns.
His daughter, the present vice chairman, stated Marcos also needs to be held accountable and jailed for approving the 2025 nationwide finances, which appropriated billions for flood management initiatives.
There have been remoted calls, together with by some pro-Duterte supporters, for the navy to withdraw help from Marcos, however Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of employees Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. has repeatedly rejected these calls.
“With full conviction, I guarantee the general public that the armed forces is not going to have interaction in any motion that violates the Structure,” Brawner stated. “Not as we speak, not tomorrow and positively not underneath my watch.”
