Manila: Thousands of Filipinos marched in Manila on Sunday to vent an angry scandal into the Bogus flood control project, believed to have cost taxpayers billions.
But a large number of peaceful mass protests broke out as riot police deployed water cannons in the conflict, deploying water with many young masked men who threw rocks and smashed a cup of a police outpost.
A spokeswoman said police arrested 72 people in two separate incidents, including 20 minors, with at least 39 officers injured in the incident and the trailer used as a barrier to Chi You.
Major Hazel Asilo told AFP It is not clear whether the arrested person is “protesters or just the one who causes trouble”.
Trailer caught fire; 72 people arrested and 39 injured in violent clashes
Anger at the so-called ghost infrastructure project has been continuing in Southeast Asian countries since President Ferdinand Marcos placed them at the state address in July.
Marcos said he did not blame people for protesting “a little bit.”
According to Manchester City Estimate, Sunday in the capital began to be violent without violence, attracting nearly 50,000 people in a park.
Thousands of afternoons participated in the capital’s EDSA Passage, the 1986 movement of the dictator’s father of Usted Marcos.
‘This is enough
“I rarely attend rally, but it’s already bad, and I really want to say ‘this is enough’,” Mitzi Bajet, a 30-year-old designer, said during the EDSA protest.
Teddy Casino, 56, of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, of left-wing league Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, said his team not only demanded theft of funds back, but also required time for jail for participants.
“Corruption requires people to take to the streets and express their anger in a bid to force the government to actually do their job,” he said.
Billions of losses
The Ministry of Finance estimates that the Philippines economy lost pesos ($2 billion) from 2023 to 2025 due to corruption in the flood control project.
Greenpeace has shown that this number is actually close to $18 billion.
Earlier this month, the owner of a construction company accused nearly 30 House members and Public Works Department and highway officials of cash payments.
The scandal has triggered leadership changes in both houses of Congress, with House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Marcos’ cousin, adjusting his resignation earlier this week.
On Sunday, multiple politicians participated in the EDSA protest, an incident supported by Powerul Catholic Church, which attracted many families.
Posted at Dawn on September 22, 2025
