Philippine President calls on protesters to keep protests peaceful.

Arabian Sea Newspaper - Special

Arab Sea - Follow-ups: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday called on citizens to express their anger over the widespread corruption that has plagued flood control projects in one of Asia's most cyclone-prone countries, but stressed that protests should be peaceful. According to the Associated Press, Marcos pledged that the investigation by an independent committee would spare no one, even his allies in the House and Senate, as a number of lawmakers have been accused in televised congressional hearings of receiving huge bribes, along with government engineers and construction companies. Marcos first spoke about the corruption scandal in his annual State of the Nation address in July. Unlike recent violent protests in Nepal and Indonesia, demonstrations against alleged abuses in the Philippines have been smaller and relatively peaceful, with anger expressed mainly online by Catholic Church leaders, company directors and retired generals. A demonstration scheduled for the end of September in Manila, near upscale neighborhoods inhabited by some of those accused of corruption, is expected to draw larger crowds, with police and military forces placed on alert. "If I weren't president, I'd be out in the streets with them," Marcos said of the anti-corruption protesters. "Of course they are angry, of course they are angry, and I am angry too," Marcos added, calling on protesters to demand accountability. "Tell them your feelings, tell them how they hurt you, how they stole from you, scream in their faces, do everything you can, demonstrate, just keep the demonstration peaceful," Marcos said.