September 22, 2025 | 09:54 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - An estimated 50,000 protesters took to the streets of Manila, the capital of the Philippines, on Sunday, September 21, 2025. The anti-corruption rally, sparked by public outrage over a multi-billion-dollar "ghost" flood control project scandal, led to clashes with police.
With organizers aiming for one of the largest anti-corruption protests in recent history, police and military forces were on high alert to prevent any potential outbreaks of violence. Local authorities reported that at least 17 individuals were arrested for throwing rocks at riot police and setting tire barricades on fire, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Less than an hour later, police fired water cannons against another group of masked protesters. Some officers were even seen picking up rocks and throwing them back at the demonstrators.
Manila Mayor Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso stated that several police officers were injured in the clashes and were receiving medical treatment.
"Manila CDRRMO [City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office] and Manila Health Department gave first aid to our policemen deployed in Mendiola today. They were rushed to the nearest district hospital, the Sampaloc Hospital so that they can be treated by our doctors. Let’s maintain order and peace in our city. Let’s all be careful," he wrote on Facebook.
The incident comes at a time of growing public dissent across the region, with violent protests also occurring in neighboring Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia. In that country, nationwide rallies have been held in recent times, fueled by anger over police violence, lavish allowances for lawmakers, soaring inflation, and declining job opportunities.
Protesters Demand Justice and Accountability
Protesters waved Philippine flags and unfurled banners with a clear message: "No more, too much, jail them," as they marched, demanding the prosecution of everyone implicated in the corruption scandal.
"I feel bad that we wallow in poverty and we lose our homes, our lives and our future while they rake in a big fortune from our taxes that pay for their luxury cars, foreign trips and bigger corporate transactions," student activist Althea Trinidad told The Associated Press. "We want to shift to a system where people will no longer be abused."
Public anger has been growing since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. highlighted the scandal in July, announcing an independent commission to investigate what he called "anomalies" in 9,855 flood control projects worth over 545 billion pesos.
Public outrage intensified after a wealthy couple, Sarah and Pacifico Discaya, whose construction companies won these contracts, were seen flaunting dozens of luxury European and American vehicles.
A Historic Day for Protests
In a statement on Monday, President Marcos Jr. said he did not blame people for protesting, but he called for peaceful demonstrations. He added that the military was on "red alert" as a precautionary measure.
Al Jazeera’s Barnaby Lo reported that the protests were led by Christian churches, noting the Catholic Church's historical ability to mobilize the Filipino people.
The protest's timing was significant, taking place on the anniversary of the declaration of martial law by former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., and on the same highway where two "people-power revolutions" occurred.
Aly Villahermosa, a 23-year-old nursing student, said she had waded through floodwaters in the typhoon-prone country and questioned the use of public funds. "If there’s a budget for ghost projects, then why is there no budget for the health sector?" she said, calling the theft of public funds "truly shameful."
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