On the 16th, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos gathered in the capital Manila, demanding the government take responsibility for a corruption scandal involving flood control projects.
In recent months, various groups have continued to protest the flood control project scandal. This demonstration is the largest of its kind so far.
According to Manila police, about 650,000 members of the 'Iglesia ni Cristo' (INC) braved intermittent rain to participate in a massive three-day gathering at Manila's Rizal Park. Many wore white T-shirts and held anti-corruption signs.
INC spokesperson Zabala said that members wore T-shirts printed with the slogan ‘Transparency Brings Better Democracy’, flocking into Rizal Park to demand 'truth and accountability.'
Elsewhere, about 2,000 people, including retired generals, held another anti-corruption demonstration at the People Power Revolution Monument in Quezon City, metropolitan Manila.
Investigations have found that thousands of flood control projects across the Philippines are of poor quality, unfinished, or even non-existent, sparking strong public outrage among people battered by frequent typhoons.
Government engineers, public works officials, and executives of construction companies testified under oath in Senate and independent commission hearings, claiming that some members of Congress and officials in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) accepted kickbacks from contractors, helped them secure lucrative project contracts, and allowed them to evade accountability.