AN INFLUENTIAL religious group abruptly ended its anti-corruption protest on Monday evening, cutting its planned three-day demonstration in the Philippine capital amid its push for transparency and accountability.
The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) in a statement said it had achieved its goal of 鈥渟ending the message鈥 as it urged the government to 鈥渄ecisively address鈥 alleged collusion within and among its agencies to siphon of billions of funds from flood mitigation projects.
鈥淚t did not need three days to achieve the goal of sending the message that we are calling for justice, accountability, transparency and peace,鈥 the INC said on Tuesday.
Around 550,000 people joined the INC-led protest at Quirino Grandstand in Manila at 8 p.m. Monday, its disaster management office said in a Facebook post. The crowd peaked at 600,000 an hour earlier, while more or less 650,000 attended on the first day of the demonstration on Sunday.
The religious group holds significant political influence due to its bloc-voting practice. Backers of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio included the INC, which endorsed both candidates ahead of their landslide victory in the 2022 elections.
鈥淚 agree with the statement of INC that it had already achieved within two days its goal of 鈥榮ending the message鈥 to the government that it should seriously address the public鈥檚 call for transparency and accountability,鈥 Dennis C. Coronacion, who heads the Political Science department of the University of Santo Tomas, said in a Facebook chat.
The mega church said its protest was not politically motivated, though figures linked to the Duterte camp have appeared as guests at the demonstrations. Senator Maria Imelda 鈥淚mee鈥 R. Marcos, the President鈥檚 sister, delivered a scathing speech against Mr. Marcos that included accusations of longtime drug use before the protest was halted.
Palace Press Officer Claire A. Castro said Ms. Marcos鈥 accusations were baseless and may have been an attempt to divert attention from ongoing investigations into massive corruption that has gripped the Southeast Asian nation.
While the protest showed the INC鈥檚 ability to mobilize large crowds, Ms. Marcos鈥 remarks may have prompted the church to end it early, said Arjan P. Aguirre, who teaches political science at the Ateneo de Manila University.
鈥淭he INC mobilization clearly made enough noise to show it can still bring out hundreds of thousands of people. But the impact was blunted once some politicians reframed the gathering as an anti-government protest,鈥 he said in a Facebook Messenger chat, noting Ms. Marcos鈥 speech 鈥渟hifted the spotlight away from the flood control scandal and toward internal political conflicts.鈥
Ederson DT. Tapia, a political science professor at the University of Makati, said the church may have ended the rally to prevent 鈥減ublic fatigue, internal strain or unintended escalation鈥 from its demonstration.
The INC is opposed to any form of violence in addressing the corruption scandal, urging instead that the issue be resolved through legal and constitutional means, its minister Bienvenido Santiago, Jr. said on Sunday.
鈥淔rom the very start, we have stressed that we are against moves that are against the Constitution,鈥 the INC said. 鈥淲e started peacefully and we ended peacefully.鈥 鈥 Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio
