Philippine: Police arrest 17 as thousands peacefully protest corruption

Philippine police arrested 17 people on Sunday after a brief outbreak of violence near the presidential palace in Manila.

The group, many dressed in black and wearing masks, set fire to tyres on a barricade truck and hurled rocks at riot police guarding a bridge and nearby roads.

The clashes triggered a security lockdown around Malacañang Palace, though police stressed the situation was “contained” and warned that violence and vandalism would not be tolerated.

“We respect the public’s right to peaceful assembly, but we strongly appeal to everyone to remain calm and refrain from violence,” the police said.

Peaceful rallies continue

The unrest unfolded separately from two large and peaceful demonstrations, where some 18,000 people gathered in a Manila park and along the EDSA highway to protest against corruption.

Later, some protesters sprayed graffiti near the palace and waved flags with anti-corruption slogans before police dispersed them with tear gas and made further arrests.

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Corruption scandal fuels anger

The demonstrations followed revelations of widespread graft in flood-control projects. Lawmakers, officials and businessmen are accused of pocketing huge sums from the schemes, many of which were substandard or never built.

“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.

Trinidad, from the flood-prone province of Bulacan, said most of the dubious projects were in her area.

Church calls for accountability

Church leaders also backed calls for accountability. “Our purpose is not to destabilise but to strengthen our democracy,” said Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

Marcos launches probe

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr first flagged the scandal in July, calling the corruption “horrible” and later setting up an independent commission to investigate nearly 10,000 flood-control projects worth more than 545 billion pesos (£130 billion) since mid-2022. He also accepted the resignation of his public works secretary.

Lavish lifestyle sparks outrage

Public anger deepened after a wealthy couple, whose firms had won lucrative contracts, boasted of their luxury car collection in media interviews — including a British-made vehicle worth 42 million pesos (£590,000), which they said they bought because it came with a free umbrella.