Free hot meals handed out to Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) members during their protest at Liwasang Bonifacio drew a pointed rebuke from labor leader Leody de Guzman, who questioned why the demonstration received support that ordinary rallies rarely get.
The former presidential candidate weighed in as the religious group wound down the third and final day of its mass action in Manila on Thursday, July 2. In a public post, De Guzman pointed to his decades in activism as the basis for his objection.
“Sa apat na dekada kong pakikibaka. Hindi ko pa naranasan na may magpalugaw na mayor. Iba rin ang special treatment,” he wrote.
The Manila city government provided food to the protesters over the course of their stay, including free breakfast for those who camped overnight in the freedom park, according to GMA News Online. Philstar reported that De Guzman singled out the Manila Department of Social Welfare over what he described as the favorable handling of the crowd.
The INC gathering had relocated to Liwasang Bonifacio after Quezon City authorities pulled the permit for the demonstration’s earlier leg along EDSA, citing complaints from commuters and residents burdened by the two-day disruption. City Administrator Eduardo Quintos noted that the Manila site is a designated freedom park, meaning no permit is required to assemble there.
The protest was staged in support of Senator Rodante Marcoleta, an INC member facing possible plunder charges from the Office of the Ombudsman over campaign donations tied to the 2025 elections. Marcoleta has rejected the allegations.
The Manila Police District placed the crowd at Liwasang Bonifacio at roughly 2,800 as of 4 p.m. Thursday. Ahead of the transfer, Mayor Isko Moreno suspended classes across all levels in both public and private schools, a step he framed as a precaution given the expected influx of demonstrators into the city.
