For most Filipinos, floods are normal, but the recent floods have driven public frustration to a boiling point. Suburbs around Manila have experienced roads under water for weeks. People are compelled to navigate by boat just to get to schools, offices, and hospitals.
This year’s monsoon rains have again pointed to the decades-old complaint: why, in the face of billions of pesos spent on flood-control projects, does the country keep drowning when storms roll in.
Social media have been a usual platform for anger, with TikTok, Facebook, Reddit and X awash with condemnation of politicians and building companies. The anger is also directed towards so-called “nepo babies” – offspring of influential politicians and builders — whose lavish lifestyles on social media have emerged as emblematic of taxpayers’ money that is claimed to have been diverted from the critical flood-control projects.
The ire deepened when President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr acknowledged that a number of flood-control projects were paper-only. Local reports said up to 70 per cent of funds for such projects had gone to waste through corruption.
Probes later came out that very few firms received multi-billion peso deals.
They are joined by other contractors who are accused of issuing kickbacks. They include a well-known couple who showcased luxury automobiles and riches on the internet — photos now spurring demonstrations. Their company has been blacklisted, and Senate inquiries are ongoing.
Resent against “Nepo Babies”
A new focus of public resentment has been the offspring of contractors and politicians, referred to as “nepo babies.” Their extravagant ways of life, which they demonstrate with their designer apparel, own airplanes, and expensive vacations, have been harshly attacked. Social media platforms are inundated with hashtags ridiculing them, where people sarcastically thank taxpayers for paying for expensive wardrobes and vacations.
Some of these young influencers have taken their accounts offline or disabled comments. But activist groups are threatening to continue to bring heat on those caught allegedly syphoning off taxpayer money, illustrating greater resentment of inequality and years of corruption.
Call For Transparency
The controversy is not limited to the internet. Workers of the public works department, who are accused of colluding in the non-existent projects, say they were being jeered on the streets. Demonstrations are scheduled to coincide with the anniversary of martial rule, a reminder of how corruption scandals have dethroned leaders in the past.
President Marcos Jr has mandated a formal investigation, promising to “unmask the swindlers.” He instructed citizens to continue protesting but also called on them to be peaceful. The investigation will scrutinize contracts worth hundreds of billions of pesos, with companies and lawmakers both subject to asset freezes and probes.
The Philippines has spent 545 billion pesos ($9.6 billion) on flood mitigation projects over the past three years. The government reviewed the projects to identify which are substandard or non-existent.
