Overview

• Crowds filled Manila’s Luneta Park and the EDSA corridor, with city officials estimating nearly 50,000 people at the morning rally and thousands more later in the day.
• Demonstrations were largely peaceful, though police reported isolated clashes, 17 arrests and the use of water cannon against a small group near the route to the presidential palace.
• Security forces were on high alert nationwide, with tens of thousands of police deployed and the army on red alert as the US and Australia advised citizens to avoid protest areas.
• The scandal centers on alleged anomalies in 9,855 flood‑control projects worth more than 545 billion pesos, with the Finance Department estimating up to 118.5 billion pesos in losses from 2023 to 2025.
• Political fallout has intensified with the resignations of Senate President Francis Escudero and House Speaker Martin Romualdez, while witnesses alleged kickbacks involving at least 17 lawmakers and public works officials; those named have denied wrongdoing.