Marcos on INC rally: Acquittal happens in court, not through rallies

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reminded Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) members who staged a rally at the Edsa People Power Monument on Tuesday that holding a protest does not absolve a person from facing a pending case.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro relayed the president’s message as INC members staged a protest in support of Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who is set to face a non-bailable plunder case before the Sandiganbayan this week.

READ: No plans to disperse INC rally yet even without permit – NCRPO

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“The president’s appeal is not only for our fellow citizens who have been affected but also for those who are holding rallies. Holding rallies, he says, is not the solution to immediately clear or absolve a person of a case,” Castro said in Filipino.

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“The acquittal of a person happens in court; it cannot be achieved through rallies. The president is listening to what you are saying about your call for transparency, accountability, and the enforcement of the law. This is what the president has been doing since he took office, especially since he discovered anomalies in flood control projects,” she added.

Castro also noted that if the rallyists intended to support Marcoleta, it should not have reached a point where many Filipinos were affected by the gathering.

READ: INC airs support for Marcoleta, hits ‘selective justice’

In a media interview, INC spokesperson Bro. Edwil Zabala rejected what he described as “selective justice” and said they will not remain silent “in the face of this grave assault on the justice that our people deserve.”

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“That is why we want the authorities to hear this: Even if they imprison Senator Marcoleta, we will not stop demanding justice for our fellow Filipinos who have been robbed,” Zabala said in Filipino during a Net 25 livestream.

The rally and statement came as Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Monday that his office is set to file a non-bailable plunder case against Marcoleta before the Sandiganbayan in connection with the P75 million campaign donations case. /mcm

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