INC rally crowd swells to over 130k at Luneta

More than 130,000 individuals have assembled in the first day of the three-day anti-corruption protest by the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) at Quirino Grandstand in Manila on Sunday afternoon. 

As of 3 p.m., an estimate by the Manila DRRM Office said around 130,000 participants are currently in Luneta Park where the venue of the protest is being held. 

A visual estimate by the Manila Police District (MPD) showed that more or less 137,000 persons have attended the first day of the rally. 

The latest figures are nearly triple the 45,000 crowd estimate earlier provided by the MPD at 1 p.m.

Participants donned white shirts bearing the statement, “Transparency for a Better Democracy.” 

Several participants have set up tents on the grounds of the grandstand and  along T.M. Kalaw Avenue and near the Rizal Monument along Roxas Boulevard. 

Presidential Communications Office Acting Secretary Dave Gomez said that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is monitoring the ongoing protests calling for transparency and accountability in connection with the corruption in government. 

The three-day protest by the INC will conclude on Tuesday, November 18. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA Integrated News