President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. backs out of his scheduled appearance at the presidential luncheon hosted by the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) following the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) protest rally.

According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Acting Secretary Dave Gomez said the President would no longer attend the event.

“The President is canceling his appearance at today’s Presidential Luncheon to monitor the situation on EDSA,” Gomez said.

The event, billed as a dialogue between Marcos and members of the foreign press, was set to take

Following the advisory, FOCAP announced that the luncheon would be rescheduled.

“We sincerely apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused. We will update attendees about the rescheduled event,” the organization said in an advisory.

In a separate statement, Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said the President is monitoring the situation.

“Patuloy na inaalam ang nangyayari sa mga kababayan natin na naantala sa paglalakbay at pagtatrabaho dahil sa nangyayari sa EDSA. Minomonitor din niya ang kapakanan ng ibang kababayan na naiipit sa gitna ng EDSA pati na rin ang pagsasagawa ng mga kapulisan ng kanilang mandato na magbigay proteksyon at seguridad sa mga inosente nating kababayan,” she said.

Unidentified groups gathered along the EDSA People Power Monument, which resulted in heavy traffic on Tuesday morning.

The groups started gathering around 2 a.m., according to EJ Gomez’ report on Unang Balita.

At 4 am, the MMDA announced on its Facebook page that approximately 500 rallyists and 30 vehicles were marching toward EDSA White Plains.

At 5:15, MMDA announced that White Plains eastbound and westbound were “temporarily closed to traffic.”

The Quezon City Police District-Public Information Office said that as of 6:45 a.m., 7,000 people gathered at People Power Monument in Quezon City.