Thousands of Filipinos have taken to the streets again to protest against the ongoing flood control corruption scandal, yet the markedly smaller crowds compared with the last major demonstration have sparked fears that the movement may be losing momentum.
Political analysts said the low turnout on Sunday reflected a combination of fatigue and disillusionment among activists in the Philippines. They warned that if public mobilisation continued to thin, it could ease the pressure on President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s administration to pursue tougher action against lawmakers and contractors linked to the multibillion-peso scandal.
Police estimated that about 90,000 people joined rallies nationwide on Sunday. Metro Manila accounted for some 16,000 participants across two main sites: Luneta Park in Manila and the EDSA People Power Monument in Quezon City. Both, however, drew thinner crowds than the last major wave of protests, which took place on September 21.
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The march in Quezon City on Sunday registered about 7,000 attendees, far below the roughly 60,000 organisers had counted during the September protest. At Luneta Park, the Manila city government estimated a turnout of 3,000, compared with nearly 50,000 in September, though organisers insisted about 20,000 had “come and gone” throughout the day.
Since the first leg of protests in September, eight officials from the Philippines’ Department of Public Works and Highways involved in an anomalous 289-billion-peso (US$4.9 billion) flood control project in Oriental Mindoro have been arrested, signalling a more assertive phase in Marcos’ crackdown on the flood control scandal.
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