Manila, Philippines – Hundreds of individuals have gathered within the Philippine capital, Manila, demanding President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s resignation over a corruption scandal linked to authorities spending on flood-control infrastructure.
The march, organised by the Kilusang Bayan Kontra-Kurakot or the Individuals’s Motion Towards Corruption (KBKK), started on the Luneta Nationwide Park in Manila on Sunday, with protesters anticipated to march on to the presidential palace.
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It’s the final show of public anger over the “Trillion-Peso” scandal, by which highly effective politicians, together with Marcos’s allies, are accused of pocketing billions of pesos in bribes for contracts on flood-control infrastructure that ended up being faulty or had been by no means constructed in any respect.
Intensive harm from two current powerful typhoons, which killed greater than 250 folks, has spurred public outrage.
Two cupboard ministers have resigned over the scandal, whereas a former lawmaker accused within the case, Zaldy Co, has alleged that Marcos directed him so as to add $1.7bn to the finances for “doubtful public works” whereas he headed an appropriations committee.
The president has denied the claims.
Amongst these at Sunday’s protest was 21-year-old scholar Matt Wovi Villanueva, who additionally took half in an analogous protest on the presidential palace in September. That protest turned violent with the police arresting some 300 folks.
Villanueva mentioned he was overwhelmed and detained for 5 days then.
“In comparison with September, now we have extra causes to return to the streets now,” Villanueva instructed Al Jazeera. “They hold treating us like fools. If we wish actual justice, we’d like Marcos and [Vice President Sara] Duterte to resign.”
Duterte, the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who has fallen out with Marcos, is going through separate allegations over the misuse of presidency funds.
In the meantime, mainstream opposition forces, backed by the Catholic Church, organised a separate “Trillion Peso March” alongside the historic EDSA Avenue. The group mentioned they’re solely urging Duterte to resign as they await extra concrete proof of felony exercise by Marcos.
Earlier this month, Co, the previous lawmaker, claimed that Marcos obtained greater than 50 billion pesos ($852m) in kickbacks from infrastructure tasks since 2022, and ordered the insertion of 100 billion pesos ($1.7bn) for so-called “ghost tasks” within the 2025 finances.
Co additionally claimed that in 2024 he personally delivered suitcases containing a billion pesos (US$17m) in money to the Marcos residence.
Co himself is accused of pocketing billions from the identical tasks and has been a fugitive since July, with Japan being his final identified location.
“Anybody can go surfing and make all types of claims,” Marcos mentioned in response.
“For it to imply one thing, he ought to come dwelling,” the president added.
With or with out Co’s accusations, Raymond Palatino of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (New Patriotic Alliance) or Bayan, one of many teams within the KBKK, mentioned the president bears an simple duty for fraudulent public spending.
“He feigns shock over the extent of corruption, however he drafted, signed, and applied the finances, a finances infested with pork barrel tasks and anomalous insertions,” Palatino instructed Al Jazeera.
Palatino mentioned each Marcos and Duterte should step apart “so the nation can start to heal and rebuild”.
Following their removing, he urged the formation of a civilian-led transition council, a short lived entity to information the nation in direction of political renewal.
Presidential press officer Claire Castro, nonetheless, has dismissed calls to take away the president, saying they’re unconstitutional and are available from “vested pursuits”.
Marcos raised alarm over the scandal in July, throughout his State of the Nation tackle to Congress. In September, he fashioned the Impartial Fee for Infrastructure (ICI) tasked with investigating officers linked to corruption.
Some 9,855 flood-control tasks, value greater than 545 billion pesos ($9bn) are beneath investigation.
The Senate and Home additionally performed their very own hearings into the case.
Finance Secretary instructed lawmakers in September that as much as 118.5 billion pesos ($2bn) for flood management tasks might have been misplaced to corruption since 2023.
Amongst these implicated are Marcos’s cousin and key ally, Martin Romualdez, who has denied any involvement however has stepped down because the Home of Representatives speaker.
The ICI, in the meantime, has but to look into allegations of misconduct by the president.
“The ICI investigations haven’t inoculated him from accusations of wrongdoing,” mentioned political science Professor Sol Iglesias from the College of the Philippines.
“Following the September motion, the Marcos administration has been bleeding out its credibility. It might stretch the creativeness that the president’s palms are clear, though we nonetheless haven’t seen the equal of a smoking gun,” she instructed Al Jazeera.
