MANILA – In the bustling Philippine capital on Sunday, a massive crowd of protesters took to the streets, voicing their anger over a significant corruption scandal. The scandal involves lawmakers, officials, and business figures suspected of embezzling large kickbacks from flood-control initiatives in this impoverished, storm-vulnerable Southeast Asian region.

Security forces were on high alert to avert any violent incidents. A considerable number of police officers were stationed to oversee distinct demonstrations held at a historical park in Manila and near a democracy monument along the central EDSA highway. Protest organizers aimed to gather what could be one of the largest anti-corruption rallies seen in the nation in recent times.

The United States and Australian embassies issued travel advisories asking their citizens to stay away from the protests as a safety precaution.

Protesters waved the national flag and carried a banner with the message: “No more, too much, jail them,” as they paraded through Manila, calling for the swift prosecution of all implicated in the corruption case.

“It’s disheartening that while we suffer in poverty, losing our homes, lives, and future, others accumulate wealth from our tax money, funding their luxury cars, international travels, and significant business deals,” said Althea Trinidad, a student activist, to The Associated Press. Trinidad was part of a vociferous assembly of around 8,000 protesters, according to police estimates by midday in Manila. “We want to transition to a system where people are no longer exploited.”

Trinidad is from Bulacan, a flooding-prone area north of Manila, which has been cited for having numerous flood-control projects under scrutiny for being subpar or non-existent.

“Our aim is not to destabilize but to fortify our democracy,” stated Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. He urged the populace to protest peacefully and seek accountability.

Organizers said protesters would focus on denouncing corrupt public works officials, legislators and owners of construction companies, along with a system that allows large-scale corruption, but they would not call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to step down.

Marcos first highlighted the flood-control corruption scandal in July in his annual state of the nation speech.

He later established an independent commission to investigate what he said were anomalies in many of the 9,855 flood-control projects worth more than 545 billion pesos ($9.5 billion) that were supposed to have been undertaken since he took office in mid-2022. He called the scale of corruption “horrible” and has accepted his public works secretary’s resignation.

Public outrage erupted when a wealthy couple who ran several construction companies that won lucrative flood-control project contracts showed dozens of European and American luxury cars and SUVs they owned during media interviews. The fleet included a British luxury car costing 42 million pesos ($737,000) that they said they bought because it came with a free umbrella.

Under intense public criticism, the couple, Sarah and Pacifico Discaya, later identified during a televised Senate inquiry at least 17 House of Representatives legislators and public works officials who allegedly forced them to pay huge kickbacks so they could secure flood-control projects in an explosive testimony.

Two prominent senators were later implicated in the scandal by a former government engineer in a separate House inquiry. All those named denied wrongdoing but they face multiple investigations.

Senate President Francis Escudero and House Speaker Martin Romualdez separately stepped down in a widening fallout from the scandal, as both chambers of Congress face intensifying criticism after several legislators were implicated in the corruption allegations.

At least three government engineers were dismissed and 15 others were being investigated prior to dismissal. All face criminal complaints and their bank accounts, houses, cars and other assets will be frozen, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said.

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Associated Press journalists Joeal Calupitan and Aaron Favila in Manila contributed to this report.