Tens of thousands rally in Manila demanding Marcos’ resignation over corruption scandal

Tens of thousands of protesters marched through the Philippine capital on Sunday demanding the resignation of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr as anger intensifies over a multibillion-peso corruption scandal involving flood-control projects.

Al Jazeera reported that the march, organised by the People’s Movement Against Corruption (Kilusang Bayan Kontra-Kurakot, KBKK), set off from Luneta Park before heading towards the presidential palace.

Demonstrators carried an effigy of Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte depicted as crocodiles, dubbed the “corrupt-codile”, and brandished placards reading “Marcos Resign” and “Hold all corrupt politicians to account”.
Organisers estimated that more than 20,000 people joined the rally.

The protest marks the latest expression of public outrage over what has become known as the “trillion-peso scandal”, in which senior politicians, including allies of the president, are accused of receiving huge kickbacks for flood-control projects that were either defective or never built. The issue has been amplified by the devastation caused by two recent typhoons that left more than 250 people dead.

Two cabinet ministers have already stepped down, while former legislator Zaldy Co, himself accused of embezzlement, has alleged that Marcos ordered an additional $1.7bn to be inserted into the national budget for questionable public works. He further claimed to have delivered cash-filled suitcases to the Marcos residence in 2024.
The president has rejected all accusations, dismissing Co’s claims as baseless unless he returns to the Philippines to testify.

Among the demonstrators was 21-year-old student Matt Wovi Villanueva, who said he was beaten and detained for five days during a similar protest in September.
“Compared to September, we have more reasons to return to the streets now,” he told Al Jazeera. “If we want real justice, Marcos and Sara Duterte must resign.”

A separate rally, dubbed the “Trillion Peso March” and backed by the Catholic Church and mainstream opposition groups, took place along EDSA Avenue, drawing around 5,000 people. That group has called solely for the vice president’s resignation while awaiting firmer evidence against Marcos.

Police deployed more than 12,000 officers across Manila and blocked all roads leading to the Malacañang Palace with barricades, barbed wire and container vans. KBKK protesters were halted one block from the gates, where they tore apart the effigy and chanted, “Jail all the corrupt!”

Co’s explosive claims have fuelled widespread demands for accountability. He alleges that more than 50 billion pesos ($852m) in kickbacks were obtained from infrastructure projects since 2022 and that 100 billion pesos ($1.7bn) worth of “ghost projects” were inserted into the 2025 budget. Co himself remains a fugitive, last traced to Japan.

Raymond Palatino of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), one of the groups behind Sunday’s march, said the president must accept responsibility for the misuse of public funds.

“He pretends to be shocked by the scale of corruption, yet he drafted and approved a budget riddled with pork barrel allocations,” he said.

Palatino described the massive police deployment as “overkill” and called for both Marcos and Duterte to step down to allow the country “to heal and rebuild”. He urged the formation of a civilian-led transition council should they be removed.

The presidential communications office rejected the calls for resignation, describing them as unconstitutional and driven by “vested interests”.

Marcos raised concerns about irregularities in flood-control spending during his State of the Nation Address in July and later formed the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to investigate.
So far, 9,855 projects worth more than 545 billion pesos ($9bn) are under scrutiny.

Parliamentary committees have launched their own hearings, with the finance secretary telling lawmakers that as much as 118.5 billion pesos ($2bn) may have been lost to corruption since 2023.

Among those implicated is House Speaker Martin Romualdez, the president’s cousin, who has denied wrongdoing but resigned from his post.

Political analysts say the administration’s credibility has suffered since the September crackdown on protesters.
“Given the scale of allegations, it is difficult to imagine the president’s hands are entirely clean, though a definitive smoking gun has yet to emerge,” said Professor Sol Iglesias of the University of the Philippines.

The ICI has yet to examine allegations directly involving the president.