Members of the religious sect Iglesia Ni Cristo raise clenched fists as they shout slogans during an anti-corruption protest at a park in Manila on Nov 17, 2025. (File photo: AFP/Ted Aljibe)

Thousands from Philippine sect protest pro-Duterte senator's looming arrest

Government prosecutors plan to charge Senator Rodante Marcoleta over undeclared campaign funds worth 75 million pesos (US$1.2 million).

30 Jun 2026, 02:14 · CNA · Join

Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

MANILA: Thousands of members of a powerful Philippine religious sect rallied in Manila on Tuesday (Jun 30), snarling rush-hour traffic for kilometres in every direction as they protested the looming arrest of a senator and church member.

The rally came a day after it was announced that Senator Rodante Marcoleta, a member of the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) church and an ally of impeached Vice President Sara Duterte, was set to be charged with graft tied to his election campaign fund.

The INC has historically been a powerful voting bloc with ties to the Duterte political dynasty and Marcoleta is widely viewed as an all-but-certain vote against convicting Duterte at her Senate trial, which begins next week.

Police who spoke to AFP said they expected the crowd at the Manila thoroughfare known as EDSA to grow throughout the day.

Subscribe to CNA’s Morning Brief
An automated curation of our top stories to start your day.

This service is not intended for persons residing in the E.U. By clicking subscribe, I agree to receive news updates and promotional material from Mediacorp and Mediacorp’s partners.
Loading

"As of now, the crowd count is 8,000 and we are expecting that this will increase," said regional police spokeswoman Hazel Asilo.

"The event has caused massive traffic this morning, especially to people who are going to work or to school," she said, adding that only bus lanes were passable.

In a video message posted to Facebook, INC spokesman Edwil Zabala said the group was there to call for transparency.

"We want to make it heard by those in authority that even if they imprison Senator Marcoleta, we will not stop demanding justice," Zabala said.

"We want to let them know that selective justice is an injustice and we will not remain silent."

Government ombudsman Jesus Remulla said on Monday Marcoleta was set to be charged over a failure to declare 75 million pesos (US$1.2 million) in unused election campaign contributions.

Prosecutors last month filed charges against another Duterte loyalist, Senator Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, over his alleged involvement in a massive corruption scandal over bogus flood control projects that enraged the country.

Another Duterte ally, Senator Ronald "Bato" Dela Rosa, is in hiding after narrowly escaping arrest on an International Criminal Court warrant over his role in the deadly drug war conducted by her father, ex-president Rodrigo Duterte.

In November, the INC rallied a crowd estimated in the hundreds of thousands, calling for accountability over a spiralling flood control scandal involving officials and lawmakers.

Many speakers at the event cast blame for the scandal on Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos.

In January of 2025, INC held a huge rally in Manila opposing the mooted impeachment of Duterte, who has had a spectacular falling out with one-time ally Marcos.

While that impeachment was reversed by the country's Supreme Court, Duterte was impeached once again by the House of Representatives last month.

Her trial is set to begin on Jul 6, with 16 votes in the 24-seat Senate required for a guilty verdict that would see her removed as vice president and permanently banned from elected office.

On Tuesday, President Marcos cancelled a planned luncheon with the foreign press to monitor the situation.

Newsletter