Protest demonstrations in the Philippines escalated into riots, with confrontations between police and citizens. The presidential palace of Marcos was in chaos, on fire, and he himself was missing and unaccounted for.

(The presidential palace was in chaos, and Marcos was missing)

On September 21 local time, the Philippines saw the largest protest since Marcos took office.

That morning, nearly 50,000 Filipinos gathered in Rizal Park in the capital Manila to vent their anger at the Marcos government's attempt to cover up corruption;

In the afternoon, over 15,000 people also gathered in front of the EDSA Monument in Quezon City, part of the Manila area.

At the same time, more than 20 cities across the Philippines held protests, demanding accountability for abuse of power by the government.

The Filipinos called it the "Trillion-Peso March," as the estimated loss from the fake flood control projects involving the Marcos government is close to $18 billion, about 1 trillion Philippine pesos.

In fact, over the past half month, the Filipinos have launched several small-scale protests, and this one was the largest so far.

(More than 60,000 people took to the streets of Manila on September 21 alone)

The reason for choosing this day was because it was the anniversary of the declaration of martial law.

On September 21, 1972, Marcos's father, Ferdinand Marcos, signed a proclamation declaring martial law, so every year from September 21 to 23, there are various activities held in the Philippines to commemorate this event.

This year coincided with the exposure of the corruption scandal in the Philippines' flood control project, which awakened the painful memories of the elder Marcos's corruption and authoritarian rule, thus gradually escalating into the largest protest under Marcos's administration.

Over 20 cities in the Philippines erupted in protests, with thousands of people taking to the streets, but the most intense scenes were at the presidential palace of Marcos.

According to reports from Filipino media, the protests near the presidential palace of Marcos, Malacañang Palace, on Mendio Street had escalated into riots.

Footage from the scene showed that the bridge in front of the presidential palace, Alaya Bridge, was completely blocked, and protesters confronted the police.

Protesters carried sticks, threw stones, bottles, and even Molotov cocktails at the police, and burned a trailer;

(The presidential palace was on fire)

The Philippine police were almost defenseless against the protesters, only forming a line of shields to protect themselves, and using burning tires as barriers to block the protesters from advancing.

During this time, about 70 officers were injured, a police motorcycle was burned, and some shields were damaged.

According to Filipino media, the protesters shouted, "Let us in."

Evidently, they were heading directly for the presidential palace, possibly intending to storm it.

But no one knew whether Marcos was still in the presidential palace at that time.

US media reported that it is unclear whether Marcos was still in Malacañang Palace during the chaos, and he was missing and unaccounted for, without any statements to date.

(Philippine police initially could only form a line of shields to defend)

This confrontation lasted all day in front of Marcos's presidential palace, until the police fired tear gas at night, used further violent measures, and began arresting the protesters, who finally dispersed.

The Marcos government claimed that the protests in front of the presidential palace may be unrelated to the "Trillion-Peso March," because the "Trillion-Peso March" was mainly led by civil organizations, clergy, and political figures, and the protests were peaceful.

However, the protest in front of the presidential palace was very violent and extreme, and some protesters even held black flags with cartoon images of skulls and crossbones. The police could not confirm the identities of these protesters.

The Marcos government's words seem to imply that there might be "foreign forces" behind it. But which country could push for unrest within the Philippines? Which country likes to use such methods? It is likely that Marcos dare not think too much, considering that the skull flag is a symbol of Western pirate culture.

(Some protesters even raised the pirate flag from the manga One Piece)

Ultimately, the protest in the Philippines started due to the corruption issues of the Marcos government.

For a long time, corruption scandals in public funding areas have frequently occurred in the Philippines, but officials involved rarely face imprisonment.

Like this time, after Marcos's cousin, former House Speaker Romualdez, was exposed to be related to the corruption case, he tried to avoid responsibility by resigning.

If the public protests subside, he might have gotten away with it.

Of course, this will plant a hidden danger for Marcos's governance, and even the political system of the Philippines.

The large-scale protests by the Filipino people are a total outburst of the long-term corruption issues of the government.

When the smoke of tear gas clears, what remains are not only burnt tires and broken shields, but also the deep disappointment of the people towards institutional corruption.

The Marcos government's avoidance and ambiguous statements are reminiscent of how they handled the corruption cases — trying to shift the focus with "unknown identity" accusations, while avoiding the core demands of the people: accountability and transparency.

If Marcos continues to respond to this political storm with indifference, or even protects his corrupt relatives, the flames seen in front of the presidential palace today may foreshadow a crisis in his administration tomorrow.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7552759876276011574/

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