MANILA: Schools and government offices will close and thousands of police will be deployed on Monday to oversee a planned “million-strong” rally by an influential religious group opposing calls to unseat Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte, officials said.
The security preparations were announced on Friday ahead of the “national rally for peace” by the conservative Iglesia ni Cristo (Church of Christ), which said last month it opposed moves in the House of Representatives to impeach Duterte.
The powerful religious group, which is estimated to have more than two million members, has considerable clout in the Philippines, where 80 percent of the population are Catholics.
Three impeachment complaints have been filed in the past two months against Duterte, a former ally of President Ferdinand Marcos, and she is also being investigated over an alleged plot to have him assassinated.
Iglesia announced on its television network last month that it opposed calls for the impeachment of Duterte, the daughter of former leader Rodrigo Duterte and who is widely expected to run for president in 2028.
Members of the group are required to vote for political candidates who have been blessed by its leaders, making it a valuable political bloc.
Iglesia’s official spokesman declined to comment when contacted by AFP on Friday.
Government offices and schools in the capital will be closed on Monday “to allow for the organised conduct of the event”, Marcos’ Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin announced in a written order on Friday.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is planning to close major roads in the capital for the rally.
“We anticipate one million attendees coming from different provinces” to be bussed in for the rally using “thousands” of vehicles, the government agency’s director Romando Artes told a news conference.
Philippine police chief Rommel Marbil said on Friday that he will deploy 2,500 police officers to keep the peace during the Manila rally.
Similar rallies are planned on the same day in 13 other provincial centres, Marbil said in an interview on Manila radio station DWPM.
The impeachment complaints accuse Duterte of misusing millions of dollars in state funds and of plotting to have Marcos killed. She has denied the allegations.
The House has yet to table any of the complaints for discussion ahead of the May 12 mid-term elections, in which the Iglesia voting bloc could decide the outcome of closely contested congressional and local government posts.
The May polls are seen as a key test for the Duterte and Marcos families, the country’s two most influential political clans, ahead of an expected battle for the presidency in 2028.
Marcos has urged the House not to pursue an impeachment effort, which he said would serve no purpose but to distract the government from its development agenda.
