The protests come amid widespread anger over the billions of pesos spent on shoddy or non-existent flood control infrastructure.
Thousands of people are gathering in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, to demand accountability. Corruption scandal Flood-control projects with allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and linked to top government officials.
The three-day rally, which starts on Sunday, is the latest display of anger over the discovery that thousands of flood defense projects in the typhoon-prone country were made of substandard materials or were non-existent.
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Police estimated that 27,000 members of the Iglesia ni Cristo, or Church of Christ, gathered in Manila’s Rizal Park before noon, many dressed in white and carrying anti-corruption placards for the afternoon demonstration.
Church spokesman Brother Edwin Zabala said the purpose of the three-day rally was to “express our feelings and give the voice of the Iglesia ni Cristo to the call of many of our compatriots protesting the gross wrongdoing involving many government officials”.
Other groups organized anti-corruption protests later Sunday at the People Power Monument in suburban Quezon City.
The country’s military confirmed its support for the government ahead of planned demonstrations in Manila, where the Philippine National Police says it will deploy 15,000 police as security.
Protests followed accusations with several well-connected figures MarcosHis cousin and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Martin Romualdez, pocketed large sums of money for flood protection projects that were of poor quality or were never completed.
public unrest Then flared up again A recent storm Earlier this month, large parts of the country were hammered and at least 259 people were killed, and Marcos promised that those involved in the scandal would be jailed before the Christmas holidays.
The Department of Finance has estimated that between 2023 and 2025 corruption in flood-control projects cost the country up to 118.5 billion pesos ($2bn), some of which it refers to as “ghost infrastructure projects”.
The fact-finding commission filed criminal corruption complaints against 37 people, including senators, members of Congress and wealthy businessmen. Criminal complaints have also been filed against 86 construction company executives and nine government officials for evading about 9 billion pesos ($153m) in taxes.
Among the accused are lawmakers who are opposed to and affiliated with Marcos. Apart from Romualdez, these include Senate President Chiz Escudero as well as Senator Bong Go, a key aide of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
All three have denied wrongdoing.
Marcos said his cousin would not face criminal charges “yet” due to a lack of evidence, but added that “no one is exempt” from the investigation.
“We’re not filing a case for optics,” he said. “We file lawsuits to put people in jail.”
Duterte, a staunch Marcos critic, was detained by the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands in March for crimes against humanity over his brutal anti-drug crackdown.
His daughter, the current vice president, said Marcos should also be held accountable and jailed for approving the 2025 national budget that allocates billions for flood control projects.
There have been separate calls by Duterte supporters for the military to withdraw support from Marcos, but the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff, General Romeo Browner Jr., have repeatedly rejected those calls.
“In full confidence, I assure the public that the armed forces will not take any action that violates the Constitution. Not today, not tomorrow and certainly not under my watch,” Browner said.
The military “remains steadfast in maintaining peace, supporting legitimate civil expression and protecting stability and democratic institutions in the Republic”, he added.