Thousands rally in Philippines at anticorruption protests in Manila

Infuriated over a corruption scandal involving flood control projects that are thought to have cost billions of dollars, thousands of protesters have gathered in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

Police and soldiers were on alert to prevent any potential violence as the country’s anticorruption protests were expected to have one of the largest turnouts on Sunday.

In Indonesia, where protesters are enraged by police brutality, rising inflation, and rising inflation, there has recently been deadly violence.

As they marched, protesters in Manila waved Philippine flags and carried a banner demanding that all responsible be charged.

Althea Trinidad, a student activist, told The Associated Press that “I feel bad that we wallow in poverty and we lose our homes, our lives, and our future while they rake in a sizable sum of money from our taxes that pay for their expensive cars, trips abroad, and larger corporate transactions.”

“We want to transition to a system where no longer is abuse occurring.”

By Sunday morning, reportedly 13, 000 people had assembled in Manila’s Luneta Park, according to the AFP news agency.

Since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. highlighted the scandal in July during his annual State of the Nation speech, there has been growing angst over the so-called “ghost infrastructure projects.”

In addition, Marcos established an independent commission to look into what he termed anomalies in many of the 9, 855 flood control projects, which totaled more than 545 billion pesos ($9.5 billion).

After a wealthy couple, Sarah and Pacifico Discaya, who owned several construction companies, won flood control contracts that showed dozens of European and US luxury vehicles and SUVs, the public’s fury increased.

Marcos vowed on Monday that he would not place any blame on those who had “one bit” protested the scandal. He also demanded that the demonstrations be peaceful. The president added that as a precaution, the army was “on red alert.”

According to Al Jazeera’s report from Manila, Filipinos are protesting against Christian churches of all faiths, but the Catholic Church has historically been able to “galvanise the Filipino people.”

“These protests are taking place on the very highway where two people power revolutions took place, not by coincidence,” Lo said. “On September 21, these protests are taking place.

Lo continued, “Protesters want the president to implement long-lasting reforms that eliminate any chance for corruption at any level of government.”

Aly Villahermosa, a 23-year-old nursing student, claimed she had traversed the storm-prone nation to avoid flooding.