Tens of thousands of protesters returned to the streets of Manila for a second straight day, pressing their demands for accountability over alleged corruption in flood-mitigation projects.
The protest started on Sunday and drew over 600,000 people. It is organised by Iglesia Ni Cristo, a 2-million-strong church which mobilised members nationwide.
Many in Sunday’s crowd expressed frustration at what they described as ineffective enquiries into irregularities in major infrastructure projects.
The scandal has widened since Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr disclosed in August the results of an internal audit into flood-control projects, revealing troubling irregularities. It has implicated public works officials, executives of major construction firms, and lawmakers, who allegedly enriched themselves through substandard, or in some cases non-existent, flood-control projects.
Marcos has created a commission to investigate the alleged corruption in infrastructure projects, focusing on flood-control facilities.
Protester Armelyn Bandril, 35, said there was a lack of accountability. “Almost a hundred days have passed since the process began, yet no one has been jailed. There’s plenty of proof,” she said. Marcos on Thursday vowed that those responsible for the flawed projects would be jailed before Christmas. — Reuters
