Overview

• Tens of thousands rallied in Manila and other cities, with nearly 50,000 at Luneta Park and additional crowds at the EDSA People Power monument, according to city and organizer estimates.
• Police reported 72 arrests and at least 39 injured officers in two clashes near routes to Malacañang, with water cannon and tear gas deployed as small groups hurled rocks and set a barricade alight.
• Outrage centers on alleged “ghost” works across 9,855 flood-control projects worth more than 545 billion pesos, with televised testimony by contractors Sarah and Pacifico Discaya naming lawmakers and public works officials.
• Political fallout has grown, with House Speaker Martin Romualdez and Senate President Francis Escudero stepping down; the former public works secretary resigned as engineers faced dismissals and asset freezes.
• Authorities have frozen hundreds of accounts, suspended new flood-project bidding and convened a three-member commission, as loss estimates range from up to 118.5 billion pesos by the finance department to far higher figures cited by Greenpeace.