Marcos wants ‘maximum tolerance’ for protest that ruined his sked

ALL FOR ONE “KAPATID” The demonstrators arrived in buses, one of them shown here, that ended up blocking the northbound lane of Edsa and paralyzing traffic on the capital’s main thoroughfare. —GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang said President Marcos does not consider the unannounced rally mounted by the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) as a threat to his security and his remaining two years in office, adding that his order to the police is to exercise “maximum tolerance.”

Still, Marcos canceled a number of his engagements on Tuesday as thousands of INC members gathered at the corner of Edsa and White Plains Avenue near the People Power Monument in Quezon City to express support for Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who is facing looming plunder charges.

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The unannounced activity prompted road closures and caused heavy traffic in the area.

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READ: Marcos to proceed with Canada trip despite INC rally – PCO

But the President will proceed with his scheduled official visit to Canada from July 1 to 4, said the Palace.

“There will be no changes in the schedule of the President going to Canada,” Presidential Communications Office Secretary Dave Gomez told reporters.

Marcos will meet with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Joseph Carney during his trip to Vancouver, where the two leaders will discuss, among others, expediting negotiations on a free-trade agreement between the Philippines and Canada, which Carney’s office said will be concluded this year.

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Monitoring situation

“We do not see it (the INC protest) as a threat because the President knows that what he is doing is for the benefit of the Filipinos,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said in a briefing.

Castro said Marcos was in Malacañang the entire day to monitor the situation at the Edsa rally. The President ordered law enforcement agencies to “exercise maximum tolerance at all times and to work toward the swift restoration of normalcy in affected areas,” and also directed the Philippine National Police to be fully deployed and remain on full alert to ensure public safety.

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“He continues to assess what is happening to our fellow citizens whose travel and work have been disrupted because of the situation on Edsa,” said Castro.

Support for Marcoleta

According to INC spokesperson Edwil Zabala, the rally was in protest against the plunder cases the Office of the Ombudsman earlier said it would be filing against Marcoleta this week, in connection with the campaign donations he received in 2025 worth P75 million when he was still a party-list representative.

The religious group questioned why Marcoleta, whom it described as the “very person pushing to expose those involved in the massive corruption in the country,” was now the one being charged and about to be arrested, instead of those named in the flood control scandal.

Concealment ‘not good’

Castro said that while Malacañang respects the INC, the deliberate concealment of the rally “was not good because it does not comply with the law and does not respect the rights of other people.”

The organizers should have secured a permit and announced it beforehand because “this had an impact on every Filipino who got late for work, every student who missed their class, and patients in ambulances who failed to urgently get to hospitals to receive proper care,” she added.

Marcos was supposed to attend the inauguration of the Korea-donated cleanup vessel MV Nilad in South Harbor, Manila. He was also scheduled to field questions from members of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines in a hotel in Makati City.

VP hits ‘poor governance’

Both activities were canceled, but his scheduled activities inside Malacañang, including the presentation of credentials of US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton, pushed through.

For Vice President Sara Duterte, the Edsa rally reflects a “growing sentiment” against the Marcos administration, which she said has been “defined by poor governance” and its alleged failure to address the country’s pressing problems, among them rising prices, job insecurity, and the increasing cost of daily life.

“Instead of confronting these challenges with solutions, the administration has chosen to silence dissent under the guise of accountability,” Duterte said in a statement.

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“The President’s failures of character and leadership have fostered an increasingly oppressive political environment. A government that answers criticism with intimidation undermines the very democratic institutions it is sworn to protect,” she added. /cb