By Obinna Uballa
Tens of thousands of Filipinos poured into the streets of Manila on Sunday to protest a massive corruption scandal tied to flood-control projects, clashing with police in the country’s largest anti-graft demonstrations in years.
The Philippines protests come against a backdrop of growing unrest across Asia. In recent weeks, demonstrators in Nepal have forced a change of leadership, after similar events in Bangladesh.
The protests turned tense in parts of the capital, with riot police using water cannons and arresting at least 17 people who threw rocks and set tyres ablaze at a barricade. Local authorities reported that several officers were injured and treated at a nearby hospital after being hit during skirmishes.
According to city officials, nearly 50,000 people gathered at Luneta Park, waving flags and banners that read, “No more, too much, jail them.”
Anger has been mounting since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr revealed in July that anomalies were found in most of the country’s 9,855 flood-control projects, worth more than 545 billion pesos ($9.5bn). An independent commission is now investigating.
Public outrage deepened after it emerged that a wealthy couple, Sarah and Pacifico Discaya, whose construction firms secured lucrative contracts, owned dozens of luxury vehicles abroad.
“I feel bad that we wallow in poverty while they rake in fortunes from our taxes to buy luxury cars and fund foreign trips,” student activist Althea Trinidad told The Associated Press.
Marcos, facing mounting public pressure, acknowledged the protests as legitimate, urging demonstrators to remain peaceful while placing the army on “red alert.”
Al Jazeera’s Barnaby Lo, reporting from Manila, noted that the protests were led by Christian churches of all denominations, with the Catholic Church playing a central role.
He highlighted the symbolism of the date, September 21, the anniversary of Ferdinand Marcos Sr’s martial law declaration, and the location, a highway where two people power uprisings once toppled presidents.
