WHY SHIELD ONE POLITICIAN? A day after its unannounced rally on Edsa, the Iglesia ni Cristo drew criticism not only from commuters and motorists inconvenienced by the gathering, but also from civil society organizations skeptical of its declared intentions. Photo taken on Wednesday, Day 2 of theprotest that drew a thinner crowd near the Edsa People Power Monument. —Photo by Grig C. Montegrande | INQUIRER
MANILA, Philippines — Organizers of recent anti-corruption protests challenged on Wednesday the motives behind the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC)-led rally along Edsa, asking why thousands of supporters needed to be mobilized for Sen. Rodante Marcoleta as he faces an impending plunder case before the Office of the Ombudsman.
“Why should any politician need tens of thousands of people to defend him against a legal investigation?” the organizers of the Trillion Peso March asked in a joint statement, arguing that no public official should require the organized backing of thousands to influence or cast doubt on the impartial enforcement of the law.
The statement, signed by 32 civil society organizations led by Tindig Pilipinas, Akbayan Party-list, 1Sambayan, the August Twenty-One Movement and Clergy for Good Governance, came as the INC protest entered its second day with a visibly smaller crowd near the People Power Monument in Quezon City.
