Palace: Political noise not spooking investors

MANILA, Philippines — As far as Malacañang is concerned, the current political noise is not deterring foreign investors from coming to the country.

Undersecretary Claire Castro of the Palace press office said the administration is not “alarmed” by protests in support of former president Rodrigo Duterte, who is currently in the custody of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands for charges of crimes against humanity over thousands of drug war-related deaths.

“In my opinion – because we will have a meeting with the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) later – the administration is not alarmed with regard to investors, because foreign investors want countries and leaders who follow the law,” Castro said in Filipino yesterday during a press briefing.

“Foreign investors dislike countries that protect people involved in crime against humanity, specifically murder,” she added.

Rallies vs Duterte’s arrest

The Philippine National Police reported that a total of 49,990 people participated in 58 monitored rallies across the country on March 15 and 16, following the arrest of Duterte.

According to PNP Public Information Office chief Col. Randulf Tuaño, the demonstrations began on March 16 at 6 p.m., with the first protest held in Panabo, Davao del Norte, drawing approximately 150 participants.

Simultaneously, a rally at Davao City Hall gathered around 500 attendees, while the largest gathering, held in San Pedro Square, attracted an estimated 2,000 people. In total, 2,650 people joined the protests in Davao alone.

On March 15, authorities recorded 27 rallies with a combined attendance of 26,470 people.

The National Capital Region Police Office monitored 2,500 participants, while other significant turnouts included 5,700 in Police Regional Office 9, 7,250 in PRO 10, 4,000 in PRO 11 and 5,200 in PRO 12.

On March 16, 31 rallies were documented, with a total of 23,440 participants. The highest recorded numbers were in PRO 8, which saw 6,200 attendees, followed by PRO 7 with 3,850, PRO 10 with 2,250, PRO 11 with 4,200 and PRO 12 with 3,690.

Tuaño also addressed concerns regarding criminal activities linked to Duterte’s arrest, confirming that the Anti-Cybercrime Group had forwarded reports on fake news and misleading online content to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group for further action.

The PNP maintained that the demonstrations remained peaceful and posed no immediate threat to public order.

No rallies were recorded in PRO 2, PRO 4A, PRO 5, PRO 13, the Cordillera Administrative Region and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.