Marcos departs for Canada as Palace rejects fears of INC-backed coup

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has left the country for four days without any order to stop the ongoing rally of Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) that has choked Edsa, turning Metro Manila’s busiest thoroughfare into a large parking lot and leaving thousands of Filipinos inconvenienced.

Malacañang on Wednesday also dismissed concerns that the INC would back destabilization efforts to oust the President while he is in Canada. But it cautioned the religious group, which backed Marcos’ presidential run in 2022, to be careful with its decisions lest it end up being used to forward the interests of some personalities.

According to Palace press officer Claire Castro, authorities “will not simply dismiss” the reports that there were groups which plan to besiege both the police and military headquarters, Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo, which is just next to the venue of the protest, as well as Malacañang in the center of Manila, 7 kilometers away.

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“We do not want to believe that members of the INC would be responsible for this. We respect the integrity and leadership of the INC. Their purpose in holding a protest is presumably not to destabilize the government,” she said.

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READ: QC revokes INC rally permit for Thursday, July 2

“Our appeal to the leadership of the INC is to also remain cautious because there is a possibility that they could be used by other individuals whose intention is to oust the President,” Castro added.

According to Castro, Malacañang “knows” that removing Marcos was not among the calls of the INC leadership to their members who participated in the protest.

Nothing new

“But there have long been people seeking to remove the President from office. This is nothing new, and the government is prepared for it,” she said, but declined to identify these groups or personalities.

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According to Castro, there were no orders by the President to break up the rally, which organizers want to continue until July 3.

“The President and the administration do not suppress people’s rights to freedom of expression and freedom to peacefully assemble. They should simply not go beyond these rights or violate the law,” she said.

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“The PNP will continue to implement maximum tolerance. We also hope they do not provoke our police personnel,” she added.

Marcos departed for Vancouver on Tuesday evening for his official visit until July 3, upon the invitation of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Joseph Carney.

“This trip has long been scheduled, and he also needs to continue working. He cannot simply stop working just because of rumors that someone might storm Malacañang or attempt destabilization efforts,” Castro said.

“The President will not stop working for the people. But we respect the leadership of the INC and do not believe they would be behind any destabilization effort while he is away,” she added.

Unlike the first day of the surprise, no-permit rally, the second day of the INC’s protest was more organized, having been coordinated with local and national government by securing a permit.

White Plains Avenue remains closed

Buses blocking the northbound traffic of Edsa near White Plains Avenue have been moved, opening up three lanes of the road for motorists. However, both eastbound and westbound lanes of White Plains Avenue remain closed to traffic.

Should the rally continue until July 3, Friday, Malacañang appealed to the INC organizers: “They will not be prevented from holding the rally, but they should not violate the law. They should also not serve as a means or become a vehicle for destabilization efforts.”

Castro said she had no information if the INC leadership had already reached out to Marcos through its executive minister Eduardo Manalo, whom he appointed as Special Envoy of the President for Overseas Filipinos Concerns in 2023.

She also could not confirm if negotiations were already taking place.

“But if the request could be harmful to justice or detrimental to many people, the President would not simply negotiate, particularly if it would affect others or it would violate the law,” Castro said.

READ: INC says it will move main protest to Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila

According to Malacañang, if the INC protest was to demand transparency and accountability, then they share the same goals as Marcos.

“That is precisely why he has ordered investigations and strengthened transparency and accountability measures. So if these are indeed the goals of the INC, these are things the President has long been pursuing,” Castro said.

However, the INC’s criticism of the “selective justice” for the impending filing of nonbailable plunder case against its member, Senator Rodante Marcoleta, before the antigraft court, and his eventual detention was out of hands of the President.

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Castro maintained that the case against Marcoleta was investigated and filed by the Office of the Ombudsman, an independent constitutional body, and not under the executive branch’s authority. /cb