More than 600,000 protesters converged on the streets of Metro Manila on Sunday in what organizers described as the largest single-day demonstration since the 2023 People Power anniversary, demanding an immediate Senate investigation into an alleged multibillion-peso anomaly in the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) flood-control projects.
Dubbed “Lakas ng Bayan Laban sa Kurapsyon” (People’s Power Against Corruption), the protest started at Liwasang Bonifacio at 10 a.m. and swelled into a human river that stretched from España Boulevard through Quezon Boulevard, Mendiola, and eventually reached the gates of Malacañang Palace and the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City.
Protest leaders accused certain DPWH officials and favored contractors of pocketing at least ₱85 billion in flood-mitigation funds allocated between 2022 and 2025, citing overpriced pumping stations, ghost projects along Pasig-Marikina River, and substandard dikes that collapsed during the most recent typhoon season.
Organizers claimed the turnout exceeded 650,000 by 6 p.m., with participants arriving by the truckload from Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan, and as far as Bicol and Eastern Visayas. The Philippine National Police placed the figure at “approximately 420,000,” while independent drone counts commissioned by several media outlets ranged between 580,000 and 690,000.
Despite heavy rain in the afternoon, protesters remained peaceful, waving placards that read “Nasaan ang P85B?” (Where is the P85 billion?) and “No More Flood of Corruption.” Red and yellow ribbons — symbols of the anti-corruption movement — dominated the sea of umbrellas.
Malacañang issued a brief statement saying President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. “respects the people’s right to peaceful assembly” and that the Office of the Ombudsman is already “looking into allegations of irregularities in certain flood-control contracts.” Senate President Francis Escudero announced late Sunday that Blue Ribbon Committee chairman Senator Alan Peter Cayetano will open a formal inquiry when session resumes on Monday, November 24.
As of 11 p.m., major thoroughfares including Recto, Quezon Avenue, and portions of EDSA remained impassable, with protesters vowing to stay until a commitment for a special Senate probe is secured.
