In Manila yesterday (Monday), about 15,000 demonstrators demanded an end to the emergency security measures in the Philippines imposed by President Ferdinand Marcos. It was one of the biggest rallies seen in Manila for some time.

In sweltering heat, students, workers, farmers, priests and nuns marched from six different directions into the public square where a grenade attack killed eight people and wounded 96 at an opposition Liberal Party rally last month.

The grenade attack led to President Marcos suspending the writ of habeas corpus, allowing police to arrest and detain suspected rebels indefinitely without formal charges. Mr Marcos coupled the attack with a rise in subversive activities in the Philippines. Since the emergency measures were imposed, about 90 people have been detained.

This rally was organised by the Movement of Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties, composed of 70 organisations. A manifesto handed out called for charges to be filed against those detained or for them to be released.

One speaker in Plaza Miranda was Senator Jose Diokno, a former Justice Secretary who quit President Marcos' ruling party in protest against the emergency measures.

During the rally, some students raised clenched fists and chanted the word "revolution."