President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is closely monitoring the mass demonstration organized by the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC), Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Acting Secretary Dave Gomez said Sunday.
‘Yes, the president is monitoring today,’ Gomez told reporters, as thousands of INC members and supporters began their three-day protests at Rizal Park in Manila.
Unlike the Sept. 21 protests, Marcos will not remain inside the Palace complex until the rallies conclude on Nov. 18.
He is scheduled to visit communities affected by recent Typhoon Uwan (international name: Fung-wong) in Pangasinan and La Union provinces on Monday, followed by another engagement in Taguig City on Tuesday.
As of 11 a.m., the Manila government reported 27,000 participants in the rally.
Organizers said the crowd is expected to swell, leading to the 4 p.m. program at Quirino Grandstand.
A parallel program is also being conducted by the United People’s Initiative, composed of retired military officers and other groups, at the People Power Monument in Quezon City.
The INC leadership says the peaceful assembly is called the ‘Rally for Transparency and a Better Democracy.’
Other groups were holding rallies at the EDSA People Power Monument in Quezon City even as government agencies are probing alleged multibillion-peso irregularities in flood-control projects. With reports from Dexter Cabalza.