【By Chen Sijia, Observer News】Last month, the Philippines exposed a corruption scandal in flood control projects, with at least 15 contractors accused of colluding with government officials and members of parliament to embezzle project funds, even having "ghost projects" that received budgets but were never actually started.
According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Department of Finance estimates that from 2023 to now, the corruption in flood control projects has caused losses of over 118.5 billion pesos (approximately RMB 14.8 billion) to the Philippine economy. President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos has ordered the establishment of an independent commission to investigate corruption in infrastructure construction.
On September 21 local time, the Philippines saw a "trillion-peso march," where protesters held anti-corruption demonstrations in cities such as Manila, urging the Philippine government to recover stolen public funds and hold relevant individuals accountable for their criminal responsibilities. The Philippine Daily Inquirer stated that this was the largest-scale demonstration in the Philippines since Marcos took office in 2022.
Analysts believe that this corruption scandal has become a major political crisis that could shake the Marcos government, but the Marcos family itself is part of the "corrupt elite" in the Philippines, and it remains to be seen whether Marcos can take action to combat corruption. Other analysts warned that if the scandal is not resolved, it may lead more investors to stay away from the Philippines, causing the country's problems to fall into a "vicious cycle."
Flood Control Project Corruption Caused Billions in Losses
According to the Philippine ABS-CBN News, in July this year, typhoons triggered floods across the Philippines, exposing many substandard or non-existent flood control projects, drawing widespread attention from Philippine society. On July 28 local time, Marcos ordered an investigation into potential corruption in the Philippines' flood control projects.
On August 11, Marcos questioned the contracts of 15 Philippine contractors. He pointed out that from July 2022 to May 2025, 545 billion Philippine pesos of public funds were used for flood control projects, and these 15 contractors built about 20% of the approximately 10,000 flood control projects nationwide, obtaining contracts worth over 100 billion Philippine pesos.
The Department of Public Works and Highways of the Philippines announced on August 13 that it would review the infrastructure projects built by the 15 contractors. In the following days, local government officials in various parts of the Philippines found a series of substandard flood control facilities, as well as several "ghost projects" that had been allocated budgets but were never actually started.
On August 29, a damaged river embankment in Quezon City, Philippines. Philippine Star
For example, a flood control project in Bulacan Province costing 77 million pesos was supposed to be completed in July 2023, but the facility did not actually exist, leaving the local residential area still vulnerable to flooding. Marcos said on August 20 that the Philippine government had allocated 55 million pesos for another flood control project in Bulacan Province, but upon inspecting the site, he found that the project had not even started.
Senator Panfilo Lacson of the Philippines also delivered a speech on the same day, accusing Philippine contractors and government officials of colluding to embezzle funds and using substandard materials to build flood control facilities.
On August 20, Philippine President Marcos visited a "ghost project" location. ABS-CBN News
On September 1, Sarah Discaya, a flood control project contractor in the Philippines, testified before the Philippine Senate, admitting that she owned 28 luxury cars and that she and her husband controlled nine construction companies, which would bid for government projects against each other. Discaya insisted that this practice complied with procurement regulations, but senators considered it blurred the moral boundaries.
During the investigation, many Philippine legislators also faced accusations. For example, Philippine Senate President Chiz Escudero admitted that a contractor who won a flood control project contract donated 30 million pesos to him during the 2022 election. Escudero insisted that he had not intervened in the contract, but he was quickly removed from his position.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Martin Romualdez, the nephew of Marcos, was also involved in the scandal, with accusations that he was linked to questionable public projects. Romualdez resigned from his position as Speaker on the 17th, stating that his resignation was to better cooperate with the anti-corruption investigation.
After the exposure of the corruption scandal, the Minister of Public Works and Highways of the Philippines, Manuel Bonoan, resigned on August 31, and the Minister of Transportation, Vince Dizon, took over his position. On September 11, Marcos issued an executive order to establish an independent commission responsible for investigating anomalies in infrastructure projects.
Marcos promised the Philippine public that the investigation commission would hold all lawbreakers accountable. He canceled all flood control projects for 2026, using the saved funds to support education, health, and agriculture. He urged the Philippine community not to politicize the anti-corruption investigation, saying, "We should not politicize the issue; it's a simple numbers problem. We need to find out how much public funds these fraudsters have stolen."
The Nikkei Asia reported that the Philippines is a country prone to floods, with more than 20 typhoons landing annually. In 2016, former President Rodrigo Duterte launched a large-scale infrastructure construction program, including building flood control facilities nationwide. After Marcos took office in 2022, the plan continued under the guidance of the Marcos government.
The Philippine Department of Finance estimated that from 2023 to 2025, the corruption in flood control projects caused over 118.5 billion Philippine pesos in economic losses. Marcos stated that in his three years in power, over 9,000 flood control projects were implemented nationwide, with more than 6,000 of them being substandard or abnormal, requiring investigation.
However, the environmental organization EcoWaste Coalition warned that over 1 trillion pesos in climate-related spending may have been lost due to corruption since 2023, stating, "These shocking figures show that systemic corruption in climate and infrastructure spending deprives Filipinos of the protection and resilience they desperately need."
Largest-Scale Protest Since Marcos Took Office
After the exposure of the flood control project corruption incident, large-scale protests erupted throughout the Philippines. According to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, on September 21, a coalition composed of civil society groups, political groups, religious groups, students, cultural movements, and flood victims held the largest protest since Marcos took office in over 20 cities, including Manila.
The timing of the protest was symbolic, as September 21 marked the 53rd anniversary of the declaration of martial law by Marcos's father, former Philippine President Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos. This demonstration was called the "Trillion-Peso March," with over 30,000 participants according to the Manila Times.
On September 21, protesters held a rally in Manila, China Vision
Aly Villahermosa, a nursing student from Manila, said that stealing public funds was extremely shameful, "I have crossed through floods several times. If there is money for ghost projects, why doesn't the health department have any budget?"
Teddy Casino, Chairman of the left-wing group "New Patriotic Front" in the Philippines, stated that the protesters' demands are to recover stolen public funds and hold those involved accountable, "Corruption forces people to take to the streets to express their anger, they want to pressure the government to do its job properly."
Elizabeth Abanilla, an 81-year-old Filipino resident, believes that both Filipino politicians and contractors are responsible for the corruption, "They shouldn't pay before the projects are completed, both sides are guilty."
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines called on believers to join the protest, and the chairman of the conference, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, stated in a statement, "This is a moment for prayer, unity, and action, to oppose the deeply rooted culture of corruption that deprives our people of dignity, deepens poverty, and betrays our future."
The largest labor union in the Philippines, the United Labor Union, also called on the public to participate in the protest to express their dissatisfaction with corruption. The organization stated, "Trillions of pesos flowed into flood control projects and other infrastructure, but instead went to lawmakers, government officials, and their associates in business. This is despicable. Such behavior is shocking and must be stopped immediately."
Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., acting head of the Philippine National Police, stated that to maintain order during the protests, the Philippine police deployed over 50,000 personnel nationwide. He stated, "The Philippine National Police respects the right of citizens to express their opinions peacefully, but will not allow any individual or group to use this situation to spread chaos and violence."
Marcos Faces Major Political Crisis
Corruption has long plagued the Philippines, and the Marcos family is regarded as part of the "corrupt elite" in the Philippines, but corrupt officials often escape punishment. The South China Morning Post noted that half a century after the military dictatorship of the elder Marcos, his son is now facing a significant political crisis.
Jean Franco, a political scholar at the University of the Philippines, said, "He (Marcos) is in a dilemma, this is a major crisis. It can either make or ruin his political legacy."
Although Marcos has pledged to take action against corruption, analysts like Franco believe this may be just political posturing. Franco said, "Considering his family's legacy, it is difficult to believe in his anti-corruption campaign from the start. People will watch and see how far he can go."
Philippine political commentator Vergel Santos told the South China Morning Post that the scale of the protest matches the scale of the corruption, the billions of pesos involved in the flood control project contracts, and the brazenness of the conspiracy behind it.
Santos said, "We see a president forced to do good... Of course, considering the crimes committed by his family against the Philippines, what he can do is still far from enough."
The Nikkei Asia pointed out that because the flood control projects started during the term of former President Duterte, the investigation into the corruption issue could involve Duterte's political allies. Duterte's son, Philippine congressman Paul Duterte, has been accused of receiving 51 billion pesos in kickbacks, but he denied the allegations.
Paul said on social media, "If you really want to find the ghost projects involving these 51 billion pesos, then go ahead and investigate. Check the records and see what's actually happening. The truth is there — in the visible, completed projects used by the people of Davao."
The South China Morning Post also pointed out that as the corruption scandal causes a "shuffling" in the Philippine Congress, a pro-Marcos faction has replaced the fragile pro-Duterte faction in the Senate. After Romualdez resigned as Speaker of the House, Fostino Lee, a member of the Marcos-led Federal Party, succeeded him as Speaker of the House.
However, organizers of the "Trillion-Peso March" emphasized that this protest does not aim to overthrow Marcos or target Duterte.
Some analysts also warned that the corruption scandal would affect the Philippine economy and investment. George Barcelon, Chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce, stated that this scandal is equivalent to "economic sabotage," "taxpayers' money is lost, we are cutting budgets in other areas, and we are also wasting a lot of money on ghost projects."
Anthony Lawrence Borja, associate professor at De La Salle University, believed, "If the scandal is not resolved, investors who are averse to high-cost transactions will stay away from the Philippines. Therefore, we may ultimately have to retain those who are capable but also suspicious enough to pay for corruption, thereby exacerbating the problem."
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