The Philippines’ deepening flood-control corruption scandal has now drawn in one of the country’s most influential religious groups, with a mass mobilisation by members of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) church offering a revealing glimpse into the political fault lines reshaping Manila’s crisis.
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The two-day gathering, which began on Sunday and drew more than half a million INC members to the capital, was officially framed as a demand for transparency and accountability over billions of pesos allegedly lost to anomalous flood-mitigation projects.
But analysts say the rally’s scale and timing signal the Christian church’s intent to test its political leverage at a moment of uncertainty, using the corruption scandal to assert its relevance as rival factions in government jostle for advantage.
“I’d like to give the INC the benefit of the doubt; the rally is a legitimate expression of grievances … However, the church’s call to action can indeed also be construed as a flexing of its political muscle,” Gino Trinidad, a political-science instructor at the Ateneo de Manila University, told This Week in Asia.
Founded 111 years ago, the INC claims more than 2.8 million members, a minority in a predominantly Roman Catholic country but one whose political influence vastly exceeds its size through bloc voting, in which members are instructed to follow leadership endorsements during elections.
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That ability to marshal followers at scale has long made the church a coveted ally for politicians and a potent force when it chooses to bring its grievances to the streets.