Philippines Hundreds of thousands take part in anti-corruption protest in Manila
Hundreds of thousands of people have protested in the Philippines against a case of corruption in which allies of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. are also allegedly involved. According to the authorities, around 550,000 demonstrators gathered at a rally in Rizal Park in the heart of the capital Manila. On placards, they demanded "Justice!" and "Transparency instead of conspiracy", among other things, as can be seen in pictures.
16.11.2025, 16:05
SDA
The reason for the protest is a corruption scandal involving state-funded flood protection projects worth over 500 billion pesos (7.3 billion euros). The Philippines are particularly vulnerable to floods, typhoons and extreme weather events. On average, around 20 tropical cyclones hit the Southeast Asian island state every year.
Further protests planned for Monday and Tuesday
According to organizers, Sunday was the largest demonstration to date due to the corruption scandal. People are planning to take to the streets until Tuesday, they added. In September, there were violent clashes with security forces during a protest. At that time, the organizers spoke of around 130,000 participants.
These are the allegations
According to the allegations, some flood protection projects were only sham contracts or were poorly executed. It was also alleged that money had ended up in the private pockets of the contractors. Information from whistleblowers also suggests that politicians and civil servants are involved in irregularities and have received bribes.
