FACT CHECK: Nepal protest, Trillion Peso March misrepresented as recent rallies in PH

Claim: Videos show a large crowd gathering in the Philippines in early July 2026 to protest corruption in the government. 

Rating: FALSE 

Why we fact-checked this: One video has already received 208,000 views, 11,800 reactions, 1,100 shares, and 546 comments. Another video garnered an estimated 75,000 views, 4,800 reactions, 569 shares, and 246 comments as of writing. 

They were posted on July 1, the second day of the Iglesia ni Cristo’s (INC) surprise rally in parts of Metro Manila. 

Both posts show footage of large crowds and imply that these were from the INC protest. The caption of one of the posts reads, “Luzon Visayas Mindanao iisa ang sigaw! #GisingPilipinas.”

(Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao all have the same cry! #WakeUpPhilippines).

Text from another post reads, “[Halos] iisa lang sigaw ng taong bayan maawa ka naman sa Pilipinas.”

(The people are crying out with one voice. Please have mercy on the Philippines).

Most of the comments believed that the mass protest being shown in the videos recently happened in the Philippines. One comment reads, “Sumugod na lahat sa EDSA. Tara na.”

(Everyone, head to EDSA. Let’s go.) 

The facts: The videos are not from the recent rallies in the Philippines. The first video shows a protest in Nepal in September 2025. Rappler and VERA Files had already debunked previous false posts misrepresenting the same Nepal rally as a protest in the Philippines. 

Meanwhile, the second clip was a video of the September 2025 Trillion Peso March in EDSA. A reverse image search shows similar footage posted on TikTok in 2025 and not this year. 

INC rally: The false videos were posted amid the surprise rally conducted by INC members that began on June 30. The protest aimed to denounce the impending arrest of Senator Rodante Marcoleta, also a member of the INC. 

Marcoleta, who has already surrendered to authorities on July 6 following the issuance of an arrest order against him, is currently facing a plunder case involving P75-million campaign donations he received when he was still congressman.

The INC rally on June 30 caused heavy traffic, the closure of White Plains Avenue in Quezon City, and suspension of classes. The protest continued for two more days, with the third day of protest held at Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila.

Previous fact-checks: Rappler has previously fact-checked similar false claims about rallies: 

• FACT CHECK: Marcos did not flee to Canada amid INC protest 
• FACT CHECK: No paid protesters in May 13 rally vs VP Sara, Dela Rosa – ex-DOF official FACT CHECK: Iglesia ni Cristo EDSA rally drew thousands, not millions, of participants 
• FACT CHECK: Video of Peñafrancia procession misrepresented as rally in Metro Manila

– Angelee Kaye Abelinde/Rappler.com 

Angelee Kaye Abelinde is a student journalist based in Naga City, and an alumna of Rappler’s Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship 2024. 

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