President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. appealed to demonstrators planning to join Bonifacio Day protests on 30 November to keep their actions peaceful, warning against violence that could endanger both protesters and law enforcement personnel.
Marcos said the planned mass action is “not a cause for concern,” but stressed that authorities will remain vigilant against agitators who might attempt to sow chaos.
“The only concern I have when we have demonstrations for whatever reason is that there are agitators who will go and try to cause trouble,” the President said.
“What demonstrator goes to a demonstration with Molotov cocktails that are not intending to cause trouble or to hurt people? Those are the people that we are worried about. And those are the people that we are watching out for,” he added.
President Marcos urged individuals not to resort to violence, reminding them that such actions often result in unnecessary injuries.
“Tanggalin na ninyo sa isip ninyo ‘yan. Manggugulo kayo. Wala namang mangyayari. May masasaktan lang. Nasasaktan pa ‘yung mga kasama ninyo kung minsan. ‘Yung mga pulis, wala namang kinalaman ‘yung pulis,” he said.
("Put that out of your mind. You're going to cause trouble. Nothing will happen. You'll just get hurt. Your companions even get hurt sometimes. The police, the police have nothing to do with it.")
Various groups announced plans to organize rallies to protest corruption and alleged irregularities in government infrastructure projects, particularly flood-control programs.
While calling for peace, Marcos acknowledged the people’s anger over recent corruption scandals.
“The reasons for people’s outrage, that’s understandable because of corruption being discovered in connection with the implementation of government flood-control projects,” he said.
“Those funds are supposed to go to the people to feed them and to make their lives better.”
Authorities remain cautious following a 21 September rally in Mendiola, where some masked protesters hurled rocks, sewage, and Molotov explosives at police officers, leaving several people injured. Most of the other demonstrations held that day, however, were peaceful.
Marcos has repeatedly emphasized transparency and accountability in public spending. In his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA), he denounced anomalous infrastructure projects, telling those responsible, “Mahiya naman kayo.”
("Shame on you.")
Following that, the Chief Executive launched the Sumbong sa Pangulo website, a platform where citizens can directly report substandard, incomplete, or non-existent government projects in their areas. Several reports received through the platform have already been personally verified by the President, confirming cases of poorly built or entirely missing infrastructure projects.
As Bonifacio Day approaches, Marcos said he respects the public’s right to air grievances but underscored that protests must not come at the expense of peace and safety.