CLIMATE CRISIS CORRUPTION
“With the amount of money allocated for these projects, there should be no more floods, but there are still floods!”
JIM GOMEZ
Sat, September 20, 2025
AP
Protesters carry signs as they gather during a rally against government corruption at the EDSA People Power Monument in suburban Mandaluyong, east of Manila, Philippines, Sunday. Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Protesters shout slogans during an anti-corruption rally at Manila's Rizal Park, Philippines on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Protesters carry signs as they march during a rally against government corruption at the EDSA People Power Monument in suburban Mandaluyong, east of Manila, Philippines, Sunday. Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Protesters gathers during an anti-corruption rally in Manila's Rizal Park, Philippines on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Protesters gather during an anti-corruption rally at Manila's Rizal Park, Philippines on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)ASSOCIATED PRESS
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Thousands of protesters took to the streets in the Philippine capital on Sunday to express their outrage over a corruption scandal involving lawmakers, officials and businesspeople who allegedly pocketed huge kickbacks from flood-control projects in the poverty-stricken and storm-prone Southeast Asian country.
Police forces and troops were put on alert to prevent any outbreak of violence. Thousands of police officers were deployed to secure separate protests in a historic Manila park and near a democracy monument along the main EDSA highway, also in the capital region, where organizers hoped to draw one of the largest turnouts of anti-corruption protesters in the country in recent years.
The United States and Australian embassies issued travel advisories asking their citizens to stay away from the protests as a safety precaution
A group of protesters waved Philippine flags and displayed a banner that read: “No more, too much, jail them,” as they marched in the Manila protest and demanded the immediate prosecution of all those involved in the scandal.
“I feel bad that we wallow in poverty and we lose our homes, our lives and our future while they rake in a big fortune from our taxes that pay for their luxury cars, foreign trips and bigger corporate transactions,” student activist Althea Trinidad told The Associated Press in Manila, where she joined a noisy crowd that police estimated at around 8,000 people by midday. “We want to shift to a system where people will no longer be abused.”
Trinidad lives in Bulacan, a flood-prone province north of Manila where officials said the most flood-control projects were being investigated either as substandard or nonexistent.
“Our purpose is not to destabilize but to strengthen our democracy,” Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, the head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said in a statement. He called on the public to demonstrate peacefully and demand accountability.
Organizers said protesters would focus on denouncing corrupt public works officials, legislators and owners of construction companies, along with a system that allows large-scale corruption, but they would not call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to step down.
Marcos first highlighted the flood-control corruption scandal in July in his annual state of the nation speech.
He later established an independent commission to investigate what he said were anomalies in many of the 9,855 flood-control projects worth more than 545 billion pesos ($9.5 billion) that were supposed to have been undertaken since he took office in mid-2022. He called the scale of corruption “horrible” and has accepted his public works secretary's resignation.
Public outrage erupted when a wealthy couple who ran several construction companies that won lucrative flood-control project contracts showed dozens of European and American luxury cars and SUVs they owned during media interviews. The fleet included a British luxury car costing 42 million pesos ($737,000) that they said they bought because it came with a free umbrella.
Under intense public criticism, the couple, Sarah and Pacifico Discaya, later identified during a televised Senate inquiry at least 17 House of Representatives legislators and public works officials who allegedly forced them to pay huge kickbacks so they could secure flood-control projects in an explosive testimony.
Two prominent senators were later implicated in the scandal by a former government engineer in a separate House inquiry. All those named denied wrongdoing but they face multiple investigations.
Senate President Francis Escudero and House Speaker Martin Romualdez separately stepped down in a widening fallout from the scandal, as both chambers of Congress face intensifying criticism after several legislators were implicated in the corruption allegations.
At least three government engineers were dismissed and 15 others were being investigated prior to dismissal. All face criminal complaints and their bank accounts, houses, cars and other assets will be frozen, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said.
___
Associated Press journalists Joeal Calupitan and Aaron Favila in Manila contributed to this report.
Thousands join protest against corruption in the Philippines
Protesters carry signs as they gather during a rally against government corruption at the EDSA People Power Monument in suburban Mandaluyong, east of Manila, Philippines, Sunday. Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Protesters shout slogans during an anti-corruption rally at Manila's Rizal Park, Philippines on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Protesters carry signs as they march during a rally against government corruption at the EDSA People Power Monument in suburban Mandaluyong, east of Manila, Philippines, Sunday. Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Protesters gathers during an anti-corruption rally in Manila's Rizal Park, Philippines on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)ASSOCIATED PRESS
Protesters gather during an anti-corruption rally at Manila's Rizal Park, Philippines on Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)ASSOCIATED PRESS
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Thousands of protesters took to the streets in the Philippine capital on Sunday to express their outrage over a corruption scandal involving lawmakers, officials and businesspeople who allegedly pocketed huge kickbacks from flood-control projects in the poverty-stricken and storm-prone Southeast Asian country.
Police forces and troops were put on alert to prevent any outbreak of violence. Thousands of police officers were deployed to secure separate protests in a historic Manila park and near a democracy monument along the main EDSA highway, also in the capital region, where organizers hoped to draw one of the largest turnouts of anti-corruption protesters in the country in recent years.
The United States and Australian embassies issued travel advisories asking their citizens to stay away from the protests as a safety precaution
A group of protesters waved Philippine flags and displayed a banner that read: “No more, too much, jail them,” as they marched in the Manila protest and demanded the immediate prosecution of all those involved in the scandal.
“I feel bad that we wallow in poverty and we lose our homes, our lives and our future while they rake in a big fortune from our taxes that pay for their luxury cars, foreign trips and bigger corporate transactions,” student activist Althea Trinidad told The Associated Press in Manila, where she joined a noisy crowd that police estimated at around 8,000 people by midday. “We want to shift to a system where people will no longer be abused.”
Trinidad lives in Bulacan, a flood-prone province north of Manila where officials said the most flood-control projects were being investigated either as substandard or nonexistent.
“Our purpose is not to destabilize but to strengthen our democracy,” Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, the head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said in a statement. He called on the public to demonstrate peacefully and demand accountability.
Organizers said protesters would focus on denouncing corrupt public works officials, legislators and owners of construction companies, along with a system that allows large-scale corruption, but they would not call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to step down.
Marcos first highlighted the flood-control corruption scandal in July in his annual state of the nation speech.
He later established an independent commission to investigate what he said were anomalies in many of the 9,855 flood-control projects worth more than 545 billion pesos ($9.5 billion) that were supposed to have been undertaken since he took office in mid-2022. He called the scale of corruption “horrible” and has accepted his public works secretary's resignation.
Public outrage erupted when a wealthy couple who ran several construction companies that won lucrative flood-control project contracts showed dozens of European and American luxury cars and SUVs they owned during media interviews. The fleet included a British luxury car costing 42 million pesos ($737,000) that they said they bought because it came with a free umbrella.
Under intense public criticism, the couple, Sarah and Pacifico Discaya, later identified during a televised Senate inquiry at least 17 House of Representatives legislators and public works officials who allegedly forced them to pay huge kickbacks so they could secure flood-control projects in an explosive testimony.
Two prominent senators were later implicated in the scandal by a former government engineer in a separate House inquiry. All those named denied wrongdoing but they face multiple investigations.
Senate President Francis Escudero and House Speaker Martin Romualdez separately stepped down in a widening fallout from the scandal, as both chambers of Congress face intensifying criticism after several legislators were implicated in the corruption allegations.
At least three government engineers were dismissed and 15 others were being investigated prior to dismissal. All face criminal complaints and their bank accounts, houses, cars and other assets will be frozen, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said.
___
Associated Press journalists Joeal Calupitan and Aaron Favila in Manila contributed to this report.
Thousands join protest against corruption in the Philippines
DPA
Sun, September 21, 2025
Protestors clash with the police during a protest against corruption in Manila. Jose Monsieur Santos/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Thousands of Filipinos took to the streets across the Philippines on Sunday to express outrage over alleged corruption in bogus and sub-standard government flood-control projects worth billions of dollars.
In Manila, the protests were held in Luneta Park and the EDSA People Power Monument, which commemorates a mass uprising that ousted incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's late father, who was deposed in 1986 due to massive corruption and human rights abuses.
The demonstrations in Manila – attended by an estimated 130,000 people, according to organizers – were the largest held so far in the Philippines over the scandal since Marcos Jr ordered an investigation into the anomalous projects in July.
Some of the protesters in Luneta Park, estimated at 80,000, marched towards the MalacaƱang Presidential Palace but were stopped by police, who blocked the way with a long truck.
A group of young rallyists who were wearing masks began throwing rocks at the rows of police and set fire to the truck's tyres shouting, “For the nation!”
Several people, including police, some protesters and reporters were injured in the confrontation. At least 12 demonstrators, many of them masked, were arrested, according to police.
“Many are angry, and I am here with family and friends to show that we are among those who are mad at thieves,” said Raymond Mendros, who was with family and friends at the rally in Luneta Park.
“It’s really frustrating,” he added. “With the amount of money allocated for these projects, there should be no more floods, but there are still floods!”
Protesters hold flags during a protest against corruption in Manila. Jose Monsieur Santos/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Protesters clash with Manila police during anti-corruption rally
Reuters Videos
Updated Sun, September 21, 2025
STORY: ::Protesters clash with police during an anti-corruption rally in the Philippine capital
::September 21, 2025
::Manila, Philippines
::Thousands had gathered to protest, which also marked the 1972 anniversary of martial law being declared
::Teddy Casino, Chairperson, New Patriotic Alliance
"The people are very angry because they have been victims of flooding for all these years. And flooding has made their lives so difficult. And yet the discovery that all the billions of pesos that were supposed to help them, that was supposed to solve the problem have ended up lining the pockets of all these corrupt politicians, government officials and contractors."
::Mong Palatino, Secretary General, New Patriotic Alliance
"We are here to remind our people that during the anniversary of martial law: martial law was not just about authoritarian rule. Martial law enabled the plunder of our nation's wealth. Unfortunately, authoritarianism and plunder continue to plague our country. So we are here to demand action from the government. We are here to demand accountability against corrupt officials in the government."
The day began with thousands of people gathered at a public park chanting slogans against corruption.
Allegations of mismanagement of the government's flood control projects have been in the spotlight in recent months during the country's monsoon season, which has inundated towns and cities despite spending over $9.54 billion (545 billion pesos) on flood control since 2022.
Protesters had planned to demonstrate in front of the presidential palace, but were barred by the police, which resulted in a violent outburst. A loud sound reminiscent of a flash bang was heard in the direction of the police, who later marched to arrest several protesters on the scene.
The demonstration coincides with the 1972 anniversary of the declaration of martial law by former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the father of current president Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which was marked by widespread human rights abuses during his two-decade rule.
Youths and police square off near presidential palace in Manila as corruption protests continue
Associated Press Videos
Updated Sun, September 21, 2025
Thousands of police officers were deployed to secure separate protests in a historic Manila park and near a democracy monument along the main EDSA highway, also in the capital region, where organizers hoped to draw one of the largest turnouts of anti-corruption protesters in the country in recent years.
Violence erupts at anti-corruption protests in the Philippines
DPA
Sun, September 21, 2025
Protestors clash with the police during a demonstration against corruption in Manila. Ryan Eduard Benaid/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Takeaways
Thousands took to the streets across the Philippines on Sunday to express outrage over alleged corruption in bogus and sub-standard government flood-control projects worth billions of dollars, with violence erupting in the capital, Manila.
The protests there were held in Luneta Park and the EDSA People Power Monument, which commemorates a mass uprising that ousted incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's late father, who was deposed in 1986 due to massive corruption and human rights abuses.
The demonstrations in Manila – attended by an estimated 130,000 people according to organizers – were the largest held so far in the Philippines over the scandal since Marcos Jr ordered an investigation into the anomalous projects in July.
Violence broke out when some of the estimated 80,000 protesters from Luneta Park marched towards Mendiola Street outside the MalacaƱang Presidential Palace to join another group of demonstrators, but were stopped by police, who blocked the way with a long truck.
A group of young rallyists who were wearing black t-shirts and head covers began throwing rocks at the rows of police and set fire to the truck's tyres shouting, "For the nation!"
Police later used water cannons and tear gas when the same group stormed the police barricade at Mendiola, throwing rocks, bottles and umbrellas, and setting off a Molotov cocktail, even after organizers called for the protesters' dispersal.
Several people, including police, some protesters and reporters were injured in the confrontation. At least 17 demonstrators, mostly wearing black t-shirts and head covers, were arrested, according to police.
Renato Reyes, president of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), one of the organizers of the protests, was among those injured.
"Stones were being thrown and I got hit in the face," he said in a statement. "The people who stayed in Mendiola were angry, years of pent-up anger. We don't know who the groups were. They're not affiliated with Bayan. But we could sense their anger," he said.
"They could be provocateurs, or they could just be really angry at what is happening," he added. "At the end of this day, the government cannot ignore the problem of corruption and give so-so responses."
"Many are angry, and I am here with family and friends to show that we are among those who are mad at thieves," said Raymond Mendros, who was with family and friends at the rally in Luneta Park
"It's really frustrating," he added. "With the amount of money allocated for these projects, there should be no more floods, but there are still floods!"
Congressional investigations have unearthed various anomalies in over 500 billion pesos ($9 billion) worth of flood control projects, including ghost projects and low-quality work in many areas that are now suffering from floods.
Some whistleblowers in the investigation, however, implicated some legislators in the anomalies, alleging that they received kickbacks from project contractors.
The protesters carried placards and banners, reading "Stop ghosting," "Corruption kills," "Where is my money?," "Taxes not for Thieves!" and "We wade through floods, you waste our money!"
Ian Red Dela Cruz, a member of an alliance of organizations working for the rights of persons with disabilities, said their group showed up to demand accountability from those who stole public funds.
"We want those billions of pesos of flood-control funds to be returned back to the public," the 26-year-old disability advocate said. "To the government, we want action now, not in six months. We want it now."
Sunday also marked the 53rd anniversary of the declaration of martial law by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1972.
Protesters noted that while Marcos Jr supported the protests against the anomalous projects, his family should still be held accountable for the corruption and human rights abuses during his father's 21-year rule.
"They still need to pay for what they stole," Mendros said. "They are not in the clear just because President Marcos Jr is supporting the demonstrations against the corruption in the flood-control projects. They are also corrupt."
Thousands took to the streets across the Philippines on Sunday to express outrage over alleged corruption in bogus and sub-standard government flood-control projects worth billions of dollars, with violence erupting in the capital, Manila.
The protests there were held in Luneta Park and the EDSA People Power Monument, which commemorates a mass uprising that ousted incumbent President Ferdinand Marcos Jr's late father, who was deposed in 1986 due to massive corruption and human rights abuses.
The demonstrations in Manila – attended by an estimated 130,000 people according to organizers – were the largest held so far in the Philippines over the scandal since Marcos Jr ordered an investigation into the anomalous projects in July.
Violence broke out when some of the estimated 80,000 protesters from Luneta Park marched towards Mendiola Street outside the MalacaƱang Presidential Palace to join another group of demonstrators, but were stopped by police, who blocked the way with a long truck.
A group of young rallyists who were wearing black t-shirts and head covers began throwing rocks at the rows of police and set fire to the truck's tyres shouting, "For the nation!"
Police later used water cannons and tear gas when the same group stormed the police barricade at Mendiola, throwing rocks, bottles and umbrellas, and setting off a Molotov cocktail, even after organizers called for the protesters' dispersal.
Several people, including police, some protesters and reporters were injured in the confrontation. At least 17 demonstrators, mostly wearing black t-shirts and head covers, were arrested, according to police.
Renato Reyes, president of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), one of the organizers of the protests, was among those injured.
"Stones were being thrown and I got hit in the face," he said in a statement. "The people who stayed in Mendiola were angry, years of pent-up anger. We don't know who the groups were. They're not affiliated with Bayan. But we could sense their anger," he said.
"They could be provocateurs, or they could just be really angry at what is happening," he added. "At the end of this day, the government cannot ignore the problem of corruption and give so-so responses."
"Many are angry, and I am here with family and friends to show that we are among those who are mad at thieves," said Raymond Mendros, who was with family and friends at the rally in Luneta Park
"It's really frustrating," he added. "With the amount of money allocated for these projects, there should be no more floods, but there are still floods!"
Congressional investigations have unearthed various anomalies in over 500 billion pesos ($9 billion) worth of flood control projects, including ghost projects and low-quality work in many areas that are now suffering from floods.
Some whistleblowers in the investigation, however, implicated some legislators in the anomalies, alleging that they received kickbacks from project contractors.
The protesters carried placards and banners, reading "Stop ghosting," "Corruption kills," "Where is my money?," "Taxes not for Thieves!" and "We wade through floods, you waste our money!"
Ian Red Dela Cruz, a member of an alliance of organizations working for the rights of persons with disabilities, said their group showed up to demand accountability from those who stole public funds.
"We want those billions of pesos of flood-control funds to be returned back to the public," the 26-year-old disability advocate said. "To the government, we want action now, not in six months. We want it now."
Sunday also marked the 53rd anniversary of the declaration of martial law by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1972.
Protesters noted that while Marcos Jr supported the protests against the anomalous projects, his family should still be held accountable for the corruption and human rights abuses during his father's 21-year rule.
"They still need to pay for what they stole," Mendros said. "They are not in the clear just because President Marcos Jr is supporting the demonstrations against the corruption in the flood-control projects. They are also corrupt."
Protestors clash with the police during a demonstration against corruption in Manila. Ryan Eduard Benaid/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Thousands take to streets as Philippines protests flood control fraud
AFP
Sat, September 20, 2025
Protesters take part in a rally as they demonstrate against phony flood control projects, one of the country's biggest corruption scandals in decades, in Manila on September 21, 2025. (TED ALJIBE)TED ALJIBE/AFP/AFPMore
Thousands of Filipinos gathered Sunday in Manila to express their anger over a ballooning scandal involving bogus flood-control projects believed to have cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
Rage over the so-called ghost infrastructure projects has been mounting in the Southeast Asian country since President Ferdinand Marcos put them centre stage in a July state of the nation address that followed weeks of deadly flooding.
On Monday, Marcos said he did not blame people for protesting "one bit" while calling for demonstrations to remain peaceful. The army has been placed on "red alert" as a precaution.
"There were times I personally waded through floods," Aly Villahermosa, a 23-year-old nursing student from Metro Manila told AFP as an estimated crowd of 13,000 gathered Sunday morning in the capital's Luneta Park.
"If there's a budget for ghost projects, then why is there no budget for the health sector?" she said, calling the theft of public funds "truly shameful".
Teddy Casino, 56, chairman of left-wing alliance Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, said the group was demanding not only the return of stolen funds but prison time for those involved.
"Corruption requires people to go to the streets and express their outrage in the hope of pressuring government to actually do their jobs," he said.
Even bigger crowds are expected to gather later in the day to march down the thoroughfare known as EDSA, site of the People Power Movement protests that helped oust Marcos's dictator father from power in 1986.
The flood control scandal has already sparked leadership changes in both houses of Congress, with House speaker Martin Romualdez, a cousin of Marcos, tendering his resignation earlier this week as an investigation got underway.
Earlier this month, the owners of a construction firm accused nearly 30 House members and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials of taking cash payments.
The Department of Finance has estimated that the Philippine economy lost up to 118.5 billion pesos ($2 billion) from 2023 to 2025 due to corruption in flood control projects. Greenpeace has suggested the number is actually closer to $18 billion.
The Philippines has a long history of scandals involving public funds, in which high-ranking politicians found guilty of corruption have typically escaped serious jail time.
On a recent visit to Bulacan, a flood-plagued province north of Manila where multiple bogus projects have been identified, AFP reporters saw residents trudging through murky water in rubber boots.
Elizabeth Abanilla, an 81-year-old retiree, said politicians and contractors were equally guilty.
"They should not have handed (money) over before the job is completed," she said. "Both of them are guilty."
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