Overview

• Crowds gathered at Manila’s Luneta Park and along EDSA, with parallel actions in other cities, as police and troops were placed on heightened alert to secure the events.
• Turnout estimates varied widely, from police and early counts of thousands to city figures of nearly 50,000 at Luneta and organizers’ claims of about 130,000 in Manila.
• The outcry centers on alleged kickbacks and ‘ghost’ works in 9,855 flood-control projects worth more than 545 billion pesos, fueled by the Discaya couple’s testimony naming lawmakers and public works officials.
• President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. acknowledged the problem, created an independent commission, froze hundreds of related accounts and suspended new flood-control bidding, as Senate President Francis Escudero and House Speaker Martin Romualdez resigned.
• The Department of Finance estimates losses of up to 118.5 billion pesos since 2023, and protesters—backed by Catholic leaders—demand prosecutions, the return of funds and systemic reforms.