More than half a million Filipinos rallied in the capital Manila on Sunday to demand accountability for a government corruption scandal that has triggered a series of protests since August.

Sunday’s protest is part of a three-day rally organised by the Philippine sect Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ). The show of force on Sunday by the influential religious bloc, popularly referred to by its acronym INC, is a complete reversal from its support of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, whom it endorsed in the 2022 presidential race.

Central to the ongoing protest is the church’s demand for a “proper and transparent” investigation into the alleged misuse of multibillion-dollar funds for flood control projects under Marcos’s watch.

But it also exposes the escalating fight for political power

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