Duterte backers blocked from Iglesia ni Cristo rally at Luneta
MANILA, Philippines — Supporters of former president Rodrigo Duterte were prevented from joining the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) mass action at Rizal Park on Sunday, after organizers barred them for carrying banners calling for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s resignation.
The Duterte-aligned groups, Reforma Filipina and Hakbang ng Maisug, said they respected the decision of INC organizers and instead moved their assembly to Liwasang Bonifacio, where they continued to rally over separate issues including flooding in Quezon City’s fifth district.
The INC-led demonstration at Luneta was attended by hundreds of thousands, according to police, focused on demands for accountability in the multibillion-peso flood control scandal involving lawmakers and public works officials.
The local church, which historically backed both Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte in the 2022 elections, stressed that its protest was not meant to destabilize the administration.
“We are not fighting the government. It is not our aim to bring down the government as an institution,” INC spokesperson Edwil Zabala said, as quoted by Agence France-Presse, calling for “truth and accountability” and investigations into “emerging evidence” of corruption.
Concurrent rally. While INC members massed at Luneta, and a separate, pro-Duterte group moved to Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila, other groups gathered in other venues. Members of the United People’s Initiative and allied organizations also held a separate at the EDSA People Power Monument in Quezon City, similarly calling for Marcos’ resignation, The STAR reported.
Police secured the sites and reminded participants to watch their belongings as simultaneous gatherings stretched across Metro Manila.
The rally by Duterte supporters at Liwasang Bonifacio drew around 2,000 people, far smaller than the INC’s main event.
The two demonstrations came amid mounting outrage over alleged “ghost” flood-control projects that have drawn public attention since Marcos highlighted them in his July state of the nation address. — based on reports from The STAR and Agence France Presse
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