Tens of thousands protest ‘pork barrelling’ fraud in Manila
Reports of graft in the country's 'pork barrelling' scheme spark the country's first mass action organised through social media
The administration of President Benigno Aquino has faced its biggest protests since it came to power in 2010 after a social media campaign against government "pork barrelling" went viral.
Tens of thousands of Filipinos angry at government corruption yesterday stood under light rains before Manila's historic Quirino Grandstand to chant "don't be a pig" and "down with pork". Protests were also held in other cities.
The "Million People March" was the country's first ever mass action organised through social media. It was triggered by reports of alleged congressional graft involving 10 billion pesos (HK$1.75 billion) in funds known colloquially as "pork barrelling" - money that was frequently channelled to projects solely to impress voters.
Instead, many of the projects turned out to be phantom non-government organisations, and the money ended up back in the pockets of legislators.
Police estimated that by 11am, two hours into the rally, at least 100,000 people had flocked to the area. Other sources say the figure might have gone up to at least 300,000 by the time the rally ended at 2pm. The president at first defended pork barrelling, and then said on Friday he was putting it on hold.
Demonstrators, mostly youth from the middle class who wore white to avoid indicating party affiliations, brought placards, masks and costumes. Many came dressed as pigs, some as barrels. The archbishop of Manila, Luis Antonio Tagle, attended with priests and nuns.