What’s prompting growing anticorruption protests in the Philippines?

More than half a cardinal Filipinos rallied successful the superior Manila connected Sunday to request accountability for a authorities corruption ungraded that has triggered a bid of protests since August.

Sunday’s protestation is portion of a three-day rally organised by the Philippine sect Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ). The amusement of unit connected Sunday by the influential spiritual bloc, popularly referred to by its acronym INC, is simply a implicit reversal from its enactment of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, whom it endorsed successful the 2022 statesmanlike race.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3‘Enormous evil’: Thousands rally successful the Philippines implicit corruption scandal
• list 2 of 3Philippines braces for Typhoon Fung-wong aft earlier tempest kills implicit 200
• list 3 of 3Typhoon Fung-wong leaves Philippines with 10 dead, 1.4 cardinal displaced

Central to the ongoing protestation is the church’s request for a “proper and transparent” probe into the alleged misuse of multibillion-dollar funds for flood power projects nether Marcos’s watch.

But it besides exposes the escalating combat for governmental powerfulness betwixt Marcos and his erstwhile state and running-mate, Vice President Sara Duterte, whom the spiritual radical continues to support. Marcos and Duterte had a dramatic falling out conscionable respective months aft their landslide victory.

The corruption ungraded has lone turbocharged the governmental feud betwixt the country’s 2 highest elected leaders and turned into calls for Marcos’s removal earlier his word ends successful 2028.

The removal question is being led by supporters of Duterte arsenic good arsenic immoderate elements of the INC and different groups. The INC insists it is not joining calls for Marcos’s removal, but the beingness of its members connected the streets of Manila means they are a formidable unit to reckon with.

Why are radical protesting successful the Philippines?

The outrage implicit alleged shade infrastructure and flood power projects has been mounting successful the Southeast Asian state since Marcos enactment the contented centre signifier successful a July authorities of the federation code that followed weeks of deadly flooding.

Government engineers, nationalist works officials and operation institution executives person testified nether oath successful Congressional hearings that members of Congress and nationalist works officials took kickbacks from operation companies to assistance them triumph lucrative contracts by rigging the bidding process.

According to authorities data, the equivalent of $26bn was spent connected flood power and mitigation programmes implicit the past 15 years. Of that amount, officials testified that astatine slightest 25 to 30 percent has been funnelled arsenic kickbacks.

So far, the authorities has lone managed to frost $3bn successful assets suspected of being linked to the immense bribery scheme.

A bid of televised investigations and Congressional hearings detailing the alleged corruption further heightened nationalist anger.

Many person criticised Marcos for acting excessively dilatory to halt the corruption, if not for tolerating those deals carried retired by his governmental allies, including his cousin, the once-powerful Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Last week, a erstwhile congressman and a lawman of Romualdez, who fled the state aft being implicated implicit millions of dollars successful missing infrastructure funds, released a video claiming Marcos himself was involved, thing the medication has derided arsenic “wild speculation”.

Members of the spiritual radical Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ) be the archetypal of a three-day anti-corruption protestation astatine the Quirino Grandstand, Manila [Noel Celis/Reuters]

What has been the toll of the floods?

Sunday’s protests travel connected the heels of two almighty typhoons that near much than 250 radical dead, galore owed to flooding and failed flood power infrastructure.

They besides travel conscionable days aft Marcos promised arrests successful the corruption lawsuit earlier Christmas.

What is the INC?

The INC, which claims astir 3 cardinal members, was founded successful 1914 successful the Philippines by Felix Manalo, a erstwhile devout Catholic and Methodist convert.

In comparison, the predominant Catholic Church has an estimated 86 cardinal followers.

Unlike mainstream spiritual groups, which adhere to the rule of the part of religion and state, the INC endorses candidates during elections and encourages its members to ballot arsenic a bloc, making it a potent governmental force.

In 2022, it endorsed the Marcos-Duterte tandem during the elections. In 2016, its enactment besides endorsed Rodrigo Duterte earlier his win.

When the Marcos-Duterte confederation broke up, the INC sided with Duterte.

In January this year, the INC held a immense rally successful Manila opposing Vice President Duterte’s impeachment, which was seen arsenic having the soundless endorsement of Marcos.

During the astir 20-year regularisation of Marcos’s father, Ferdinand Marcos Sr, the INC was besides seen arsenic a protagonist of his presidency.

Despite their governmental differences, Marcos declared a peculiar non-working vacation to observe the INC’s 111th founding day connected July 27, 2025, demonstrating what observers constituent to arsenic the group’s tremendous governmental clout.

“The influential Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) is not missing a beat,” governmental expert Alex Magno wrote successful a caller file successful the Philippine Star newspaper.

Members of Iglesia ni Cristo instrumentality portion successful a protestation against corruption connected November 16, 2025 successful Manila, Philippines [Ezra Acayan/Getty Images]

What are the demands of the INC-led protest?

The INC-led protest, which has been scheduled for 3 days from Sunday, November 16 to Tuesday, November 18, is demanding “proper and transparent” probe of the corruption ungraded and “better democracy”.

“A batch of radical are getting flooded due to the fact that of the corruption, and arsenic a effect radical are dying,” Edwina Kamatoy, 1 of the protesters, told Al Jazeera’s Barnaby Lo, who is reporting from Manila.

Aries Cortez, different protester, complained that the authorities probe truthful acold is being selective and “is not going anywhere”.

The protestation is being held astatine the Quirino Grandstand by the Manila Bay successful the Philippine capital.

As of 08:00 GMT connected Monday, the 2nd time of the protest, an estimated 300,000 protesters person gathered astatine the park, according to the Manila hazard simplification and absorption office.

On Sunday, the Philippine National Police said they are deploying astatine slightest 15,000 unit passim the duration of the protest.

The protesters accidental they are not demanding the ouster of Marcos. But galore successful their ranks person openly expressed their disdain for the Marcos presidency, peculiarly aft the ICC apprehension of erstwhile President Rodrigo Duterte.

Who are the different groups presently protesting against Marcos?

About 2,000 people, including retired generals, held a abstracted anticorruption protestation precocious connected Sunday astatine the “People Power” monument successful suburban Quezon City.

The smaller radical of protesters, galore of whom are identified arsenic Duterte supporters, are calling for the outright resignation of Marcos from the presidency.

According to the police, up to 30,000 anti-Marcos protesters are expected astatine the tract connected Monday afternoon. But arsenic of 08:00 GMT connected Monday, lone 3,000 protesters person showed up, according to News 5 tv channel.

The centre-left governmental bloc and their civic and spiritual allies person pointedly skipped the rally, wary that it would lone pb to the instrumentality of Duterte to power.

On Sunday, they held a abstracted “Run Against Corruption” protestation astatine the University of the Philippines. Their radical person besides been staging smaller marches each Friday.

The erstwhile protestation successful September, which besides attracted hundreds of thousands of protesters, was chiefly led by that centre-left bloc that called itself the “Trillion Peso March Movement”.

A abstracted and smaller radical of protesters besides managed to signifier its ain march adjacent the statesmanlike palace that day, starring to a convulsive constabulary crackdown that resulted successful astatine slightest 1 death, respective injuries and dozens of arrests.

In caller days, the Catholic Church has besides issued a connection calling for transparency successful government, but warned against “unconstitutional” means to execute justice.

Members of Iglesia ni Cristo instrumentality portion successful a protestation against corruption connected November 16, 2025 successful Manila, Philippines [Ezra Acayan/Getty Images]

How is the authorities reacting to the protest?

In a vigor interrogation connected Monday, Presidential Spokesman Dave Gomez dismissed arsenic “a precise tiny group” those who privation Marcos to beryllium kicked retired of office, adding that those calling for the president’s resignation are apt to beryllium implicated successful the ongoing probe.

Gomez besides said the authorities is monitoring radical who are seeking to destabilise it.

He dismissed the caller allegations of erstwhile Congressman Zaldy Co, who straight implicated the president successful the bribery case.

“As the president said, helium volition not adjacent dignify the accusations,” Gomez added, pointing to the “numerous loopholes” successful them.

Late connected Monday, the Palace announced that Marcos’s enforcement caput and fund caput had resigned, aft some officials were accused of having links to the bribery scandal.

How volition it impact Marcos Jr’s government?

While Filipinos are agreed successful choler towards the Marcos administration, they are sharply divided connected the calls for the president’s removal.

Some are wary that a takeover by Vice President Sara Duterte would not pb to immoderate substantive change, fixed that she is besides facing allegations of corruption.

A wide philosophical disparity betwixt the 2 absorption forces, however, has prevented them from uniting against Marcos. More often, the centre-left bloc has emerged arsenic fiercely much anti-Duterte than anti-Marcos, putting them successful a sometimes awkward governmental position.

In a connection earlier the INC-led protest, Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner Jr besides made it wide that the subject volition not enactment immoderate efforts to subvert the constitution, making Marcos’s removal from bureau unlikely.

What’s next?

Meanwhile, the alleged Trillion Peso March Movement, which organised the September 21 anticorruption rally successful Manila, has announced that it volition clasp its ain rally connected November 30.

The radical said it aims to “transform a supplication rally into a movement” for the prosecution of each those progressive successful the ongoing corruption scandal.

The radical is seen arsenic a defender of the 1987 Constitution that helped pave the mode for the restoration of ideology successful the state of much than 110 cardinal people.