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| Estimates put the number of people at the peak of the INC rally at 650,000 |
The three-day rally for transparency and accountability called by the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) remained strong on its second day today, Monday, with an estimated 600,000 people remaining at the Luneta Park venue.
The Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management
Office estimated the crowd at the Quirino Grandstand to have swelled to 650,000
at its peak on Sunday.
But contrary to speculations, the INC rally did not
call for the resignation of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., but merely reiterated
a demand for transparency in government and accountability for all those implicated
in the multi-billion peso corruption scandal in public works.
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INC general evangelist Bienvenido Santiago, Jr. who
spoke first at the Sunday rally, clarified that they are against any
extra-legal means to address the corruption scandal. He openly rejected speculations
that the church had organized the rally to call for the overthrow of the Marcos
administration.
“Basta ‘yung
hakbang magbubunga ng karahasan at kaguluhan, hindi tayo sang-ayon diyan. Ang
gusto natin, lahat ng solusyon, lahat ng hakbang, dapat sumunod sa paraang
legal at payapa,” Santiago said.
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(Any steps that would lead to
violence or chaos we do not condone. What we are after are solutions and steps
that will conform to law and order).
It was clear, though, that the
church was not siding with Marcos, either, with leaders emphasizing that they
are after the preservation of the government as an institution, and not the
person who currently leads it.
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| Imee vans distributed water and buns to rally participants |
It was also clear to observers that the rally was
closely aligned with anti-Marcos groups. Senator Imee Marcos, who has been at odds
with President Marcos, distributed bottled water and nutribuns during the rally, and during her
speech on Monday, shocked many by saying her brother as well as his wife, First
Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and their sons are drug addicts.
Former Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson, who has
repeatedly expressed his disaffection with President Marcos in public,
distributed free porridge to participants.
Non-INC observers also noticed that the anti-Marcos
sentiment was evident among those who were at the rally, similar to an earlier
mobilization they had on January 13 this year when they condemned moves to impeach
Vice President Sara Duterte.
What could not be denied was that ahead of the mass
rally, former Ako Bicol representative and former chair of the House appropriations
committee Zaldy Co released a series of videos claiming House Speaker Martin
Romualdez and President Marcos to the flood control corruption mess.
Groups calling for Marcos to resign led by retired
generals also held a simultaneous rally at the People Power Monument in Quezon
City. However, instead of around 300,000 people that were expected to show up
on Sunday, only 4,000 actually came, and by Monday, the crowd was even sparser.
But the unease appeared to have had an effect on the
President. On the second day of the INC rally, the Palace announced the
resignation of Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Budget Secretary Amenah
Pangandaman, who were both linked to the growing scandal. Finance Secretary Ralph
Recto was immediately named to take over Bersamin’s post, while his own post
was given to Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic
Affairs Frederick Go.
