Flood-Control Corruption and Youth Uprising in the Philippines

More than 200 people have been arrested after a violent confrontation erupted between law enforcement and masked protesters during a massive anti-corruption rally in Manila.

The unrest broke out at Ayala Bridge, near the Office of the President, where demonstrators pelted police with rocks, bottles, and improvised firebombs. What was meant to be a peaceful nationwide protest turned chaotic as riot police clashed with protesters in the capital.

However, this scene was just a small fraction of the Filipinos anger.

In the nearby Luneta Park as well as in the EDSA Shrine, tens of thousands of Filipinos joined the “Trillion Peso March” demanding justice over what they allege is the large-scale theft of public funds meant for flood-control infrastructure.

Many of these projects, protesters say, were either never built or were done poorly, despite billions of dollars being allocated. As climate change intensifies the impact of typhoons, Filipinos continue to suffer from severe flooding year after year — while powerful officials, they argue, walk free and grow richer.

Public outrage in the Philippines is intensifying. Protesters are demanding not only the arrest and prosecution of those involved in the flood-control corruption scandal, but also the full return of stolen public funds.

Some groups have gone further, calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty for government officials convicted of large-scale plunder.

The Philippines has now become the fourth country in Asia in recent weeks where the younger generation has taken to the streets in force, demanding accountability from their leaders.

The wave began in Indonesia early this month, when citizens rallied to scrap a government plan to grant MPs lucrative monthly housing allowances. It was followed by a Gen Z–led protest in Nepal, sparked by the government’s attempt to ban TikTok and other platforms. Most recently, students in Timor-Leste clashed with police over the government’s decision to purchase luxury vehicles for lawmakers.

The protest in the Philippines mirrors this growing regional trend: a youth-led uprising, backed by a frustrated public, calling for a generational reckoning with systemic corruption.

How was it unpacked?

During his fourth State of the Nation Address on July 18, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivered an unfiltered remark: “Mahiya naman kayo!” (“Shame on you!”). The statement, aimed at those accused of siphoning public funds from flood-prevention projects, came just days after Metro Manila was once again paralysed by flooding. While not seen as a genuine voice of public outrage, the President’s words marked a rare, public acknowledgment of the deepening corruption crisis.

Following his address, the President made public the initial findings of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). He revealed that over 500 billion pesos (NZD 14.3 billion approx) had been allocated for flood-control projects nationwide, but a staggering 100 billion pesos (NZD 2.9 billion approx) of that amount had been given to just 15 contractors. Marcos Jr. made it a personal crusade, establishing a "Isumbong sa Pangulo" (report to the president) website for citizens to report anomalies.

He even conducted on-site visits, where he found shocking evidence of fraud. In Bulacan, a flood-prone province situated in a natural catch basin, a 55 million pesos (NZD 1.6 million approx) flood-control project was reported as "completed" on paper, but on the ground, it was entirely non-existent. "It’s evident that it’s not complete," Marcos Jr. told the media. "So immediately, that’s falsification... I’m really thinking very hard to line up economic sabotage [cases against them]."

The President also flagged more than 6,021 projects, worth over 350 billion pesos (NZD 10.0 billion approx), that lacked specific details about the type of structures built or rehabilitated. Furthermore, many of these projects used identical designs and materials despite being in vastly different locations and terrain, suggesting a generic template for swindling public funds.

The top 15 contractors identified by the President included firms like Legacy Construction Corporation, Alpha & Omega, St. Timothy, EGB Construction, and Road Edge Trading, which had projects in almost every region of the country, hinting at a nationwide scheme.

The subsequent investigations by journalists and legislators revealed a deeply tangled web connecting these contractors to powerful politicians.

One of the top firms, Sunwest Construction, which secured over 38 billion pesos (NZD 1.1 billion approx) in government projects from 2016 to 2024, is linked to Congressman Zaldy Co. An investigative report by Rappler showed that 7 billion pesos (NZD 200 million approx) of those funds went to flood-control projects alone.

While Co divested from the company in 2019 to comply with legal standards, his family and friends, including his brother and former congressman Christopher Co, remain active shareholders in businesses closely tied to Sunwest.

Similarly, the firms Alpha & Omega Gen. Contractor & Development Corp. and St. Timothy Construction are tied to Sarah Discaya, a former mayoral candidate in Pasig City. This confirmed the public's suspicion: contractors and politicians are often one and the same.

Shaming of 'Nepo Babies'

While the figures were appalling, what truly ignited public fury was the bold, shameless flaunting of wealth by the children of these contractors and politicians, now widely known as "nepo babies." Their lavish lifestyles, broadcast on social media and in media features, provided a stark and infuriating contrast to the daily suffering of ordinary Filipinos.

Sarah Discaya was featured in two media segments where she showcased her collection of over 40 luxury cars, including a Bentley Bentayga and a Rolls-Royce Cullinan worth 42 million pesos (NZD 1.2 million approx), which she reportedly bought because it came with a "free umbrella."

The Discaya family’s interviews were angled as a rags-to-riches story, but when asked about the source of their wealth, they admitted it was from their work as contractors for the DPWH. A Senate investigation later revealed the family owns nine construction companies.

The same outrage was directed at Claudine Co, the daughter of Congressman Christopher Co. She built a massive social media following as an influencer, showcasing a life of opulence. Her vlogs documented massive designer hauls, private plane charters, and travel to 37 countries in 2023 alone. One viral video featured her purchase of a white G-Wagon, a luxury SUV retailing for at least 25 million pesos (NZD 714,000 approx).

These displays were not just a source of envy; they were an insult.

Flood-control nepotism babies rally on TikTok and other social media platforms.

While the "nepo babies" vacationed in Paris and unboxed designer goods, ordinary Filipinos were left to fend for themselves. The BBC highlighted the story of Crissa Tolentino, a 36-year-old public school teacher from Apalit, Pampanga, who uses a paddleboat to commute through flooded streets to her job and to a clinic for cancer treatment.

She told the BBC, "I feel betrayed... I work hard, I don't spend too much and taxes are deducted from my salary every month. Then I learn that billions in our taxes are being enjoyed by corrupt politicians." This stark juxtaposition of her reality with the extravagant lives of the elite created a visceral, powerful anger that fueled the online movement.

The public demanded that the assets of these families be frozen, and the money returned.

Some critics have labelled the social media shaming of “flood-control nepo babies” as cyberbullying. But journalism professor Danilo Arao of the University of the Philippines says public anger is understandable, given how the country is dominated by political dynasties.

The Center for People Empowerment in Governance echoed the public’s outrage, calling the corruption “unimaginable” and urging Filipinos to hold plunderers accountable, demand transparency, and reject dynastic politics. The public policy think tank said graft is no longer isolated but deeply embedded in the country’s political system, eroding trust and denying basic public services.

 The 'Pie Sharing' of Greed

Senator Panfilo Lacson, a former police general and veteran lawmaker known for rejecting pork barrel funds throughout his career, exposed the inner workings of the grand corruption scheme in a searing privilege speech. He accused government agencies and politicians of presiding over the "flooded gates of corruption," revealing how nearly 2 trillion pesos (NZD 57.1 billion approx) poured into flood-control projects has failed to protect communities.

Lacson noted that over half of the 15-year budget—more than 1 trillion pesos (NZD 28.6 billion approx)—was released in just the last three years (2023–2025).

Lacson detailed a meticulously planned "pie-sharing" scheme where flood-control contracts are sliced up for kickbacks.

Source: Sen. Lacson presentation/Illustration: Carla Teng-Westergaard

He alleged that DPWH officials pocket 8–10 percent of the contract value, bidding committees take another 5–6 percent, and the politicians who "own" the projects claim a whopping 20–25 percent. After standard deductions, contractors are left with a minuscule portion of the budget, forcing them to use poor-quality materials and cut corners to recover their costs. The result is what Lacson described as "substandard works, phantom projects," and a system so pervasive that, as he put it, "doing so is like a piece of cake."

Senator Lacson’s claims were supported by another official, Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, who exposed "brazen" overpricing in national and local government projects.

Magalong presented concrete numbers, showing how billions are lost to inflated contracts. For rock netting, a material used to protect roads from landslides, the government’s reference price was 17,000 pesos (NZD 507.6) per square meter, three times the market price of 6,000 pesos (NZD 179).

For "cat eyes," the reflective lane dividers, the reference price was a staggering 11,720.69 pesos (NZD 349.66) each, more than seven times the market price of 1,624 pesos (NZD48.45).

Both Lacson and Magalong concluded that the contractors are just a small piece of a much larger, politically driven scheme, with the lion's share of the pocketed funds going to lawmakers in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The Anatomy of Budget Manipulation

GMA News reporter Maki Pulido further dissected the budget-rigging scheme, detailing how "illegal insertions" are made at every step of the legislative process. It begins at the National Expenditure Program (NEP), where a pre-existing collusion between politicians, the DPWH, and contractors allegedly allows for projects to be "masked" as part of the official programme.

The real manipulation, however, happens later.

Under the House of Representatives’ rules, a budget bill that has passed the plenary cannot be amended, but it can be modified by a small, four-member committee.

For the 2025 budget, this powerful committee was headed by Congressman Zaldy Co.

Navotas Congressman Toby Tiangco claimed that Co was the main proponent of over 13.8 billion pesos (NZD 394 million approx) in flood-control projects.

Tiangco also defined two key techniques for inserting funds: "parking" and "sagasa" (crash). "Parking" is when a politician pleads with another district congressman to have a project placed in their district. "Sagasa" (crash) is a more aggressive method where a project is inserted without the district congressman’s consent or knowledge.

Lawmakers who allowed budget insertions to be parked in their districts received a “parking fee” — a special kickback in exchange for their complicity.

The budget process in the hands of lawmakers concludes at the Bicameral Conference Committee, where the House and Senate versions are consolidated. And on this level, insertions still happen.

Another layer of complexity comes from the so-called Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA). These funds do not appear in the government’s proposed budget as well (the NEP) but are inserted as a separate annex in the final General Appropriations Act (GAA). In theory, they can only be released if the state generates excess revenue, secures new loans, or receives foreign grants.

However, in practice, these UAs' broad and often vague categories — such as “support for infrastructure and social programs” — give lawmakers and the Department of Budget and Management wide discretion. This makes unprogrammed funds a convenient reservoir for accommodating last-minute insertions, rewarding political allies, or financing projects that bypass the usual scrutiny applied to the programmed budget.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that by the end of the budget process—particularly for the DPWH, which oversees flood-control projects—the final allocation in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) consistently ends up significantly higher than what was proposed in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

For the 2025 budget, the DPWH initially requested almost 900 billion pesos (NZD 26.66 billion approx), which became over 1 trillion (NZD 28.6 billion approx).

Illustration: Carla Teng-Westergaard

Once these funds become "line items" in the GAA, the bidding process begins, but Mayor Magalong’s testimony made it clear that the bidding is merely a "façade."

The winning bidder is often known beforehand, with the "first qualification" being who can offer the "biggest percentage" in kickbacks and advances. The result, inevitably, is either a "ghost project" or a substandard one, since, as Magalong explained, they would be lucky if even 30 percent of the budget is left for the actual implementation.

On Tuesday, Zaldy Co issued a statement denying all allegations against him. However, the congressman was not even in the Philippines when the accusations surfaced. Members of the public are now calling on him to return home and face the charges directly.

From Pork Barrel to Flood-Control Projects

The scale and sophistication of today’s corruption reveal a more evolved version of the infamous “pork barrel scandal” that rocked the Philippines a decade ago.

Back then, lawmakers funnelled their discretionary funds — known as the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) — into bogus non-government organisations controlled by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles. Instead of funding legitimate projects, the money was illegally diverted, with legislators receiving kickbacks reportedly as high as 40–60 percent.

That scandal involved around 10 billion pesos (NZD 298 million approx) — a figure that pales in comparison to the trillions of pesos now being scrutinised under flood-control allocations.

In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled PDAF unconstitutional. But the system adapted. With their pork barrel mechanism dismantled, lawmakers found new ways to exploit the budget — often through insertions, contractors, and coded line items buried deep within infrastructure funds.

Three senators were arrested over the original pork-barrel scam: Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and Bong Revilla Jr. All were eventually acquitted and returned to public office.

The only person convicted and imprisoned was Janet Lim-Napoles. The politicians, meanwhile, walked free — and returned to power.

Now, in a bitter déjà vu, Estrada and Revilla—along with Senator Joel Villarama, who was also linked to the pork barrel scandal—are once again facing allegations, this time over irregularities in flood-control projects.

The public's fury is magnified by the fact that the very institutions investigating the issue in aid of legislation are themselves implicated.

In a move to address this, President Marcos Jr. created an independent commission and fired the former DPWH secretary. He also announced that the inserted flood-control projects for 2025 would be removed from the budget and reallocated to health and education.

On Tuesday, September 24, Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla announced that the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) had obtained a Court of Appeals order freezing the assets of officials and lawmakers implicated in the flood-control scandal.

So far, those being named are only from Bulacan province—just one area. Other regions, where powerful political dynasties continue to dominate as both politicians and contractors, have yet to come under scrutiny.

Furthermore, President Marcos Jr. was not left unscathed. During the Senate hearings, his cousin, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, was implicated as the alleged mastermind behind the insertions, working with Zaldy Co. Romualdez has since resigned from his post, but the public remains skeptical about the extent to which the President will hold his relatives accountable.

Notably, some DPWH officials and contractors who admitted to the wrongdoing publicly pointed out that it was under the current Marcos administration that insertions for infrastructure projects ballooned.

Amid the unfolding controversy, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has reportedly halted a 28 billion pesos (NZ$800 million approx) infrastructure loan intended for the Philippines, citing concerns over corruption. However, the Philippine Department of Finance has denied the existence of such a loan agreement.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung posted on his Facebook on 10 September 2025.

A Glimmer of Hope

Despite the scale of the corruption, a new generation of Filipinos, especially Gen Z, is refusing to let the issue go.

They are leveraging social media to demand accountability, and their collective anger has forced the powerful to retreat from the public eye.

Beyond the fight against corruption, there is also a parallel struggle to find a sustainable solution to the country's flooding problem.

In an interview with Asia Media Centre, Don Manlangit — a Filipino landscape architect and urban planner, Manaaki New Zealand scholar, and former University of Auckland instructor in urban design — explained that effective flood-control measures require more than just an engineering perspective.

He emphasised that a "holistic hydrology master plan, understanding how nature works and how the waterflows – ridge to reef – from uplands like forest down to the mid-stream cities like Manila and Bulacan then down to coastal areas" is needed.

Manlangit also states that the Philippines is over-reliant on "grey" infrastructure—dikes, culverts, and seawalls—which are unsustainable in the long run. He advocates for a shift towards "blue-green infrastructure" (BGI), which integrates natural water systems with vegetated areas to manage stormwater.

BGI functions as a "living sponge," absorbing and releasing rainwater while also providing environmental benefits and creating recreational spaces. The success of this approach has already been demonstrated in places like the Iloilo Esplanade, which successfully managed flooding by connecting projects to the existing river system.

The Iloilo Esplanade stands as a model blue-green infrastructure for flood control in the Philippines. The full rehabilitation of the Iloilo River was financed through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Photo: Wikimedia

Here, in New Zealand, blue-green infrastructure is not just a concept but a guiding principle in city design. Christchurch turned the Ōtākaro Avon River corridor, badly damaged by the 2011 earthquakes, into a network of wetlands and parks that now serve as natural flood buffers while also restoring ecosystems and giving people open spaces to enjoy.

Auckland has taken this further with its “making space for water” strategy, creating stormwater parks, greenways, and floodplains that absorb heavy rainfall and release it slowly back into the environment. Instead of trying to block water with concrete, these projects give it room to flow safely, reducing the risk of flooding while providing everyday benefits like cleaner waterways, better biodiversity, and more accessible community spaces.

New Zealand also supports Pacific and Southeast Asian countries in building climate resilience. In a similar effort, the New Zealand government recently assisted Laos through a five-year flood-mitigation programme in Vientiane, known as NATURA (Nature-Based Solutions for Urban Adaptation), which focuses on wetland rehabilitation and flood management.

When asked if Metro Manila could also be one day a flood-free area, Manlangit said, "yes, but realistically it will be hard because it will need a comprehensive governance handling metro manila to combat flood." It will take all 17 cities of the capital working in unison, backed by an extraordinary level of political will.

The corruption scandal, while disheartening, has created an opportunity. It has galvanized public outrage and highlighted the devastating cost of a government that serves itself rather than its people. The movement especially being led by the younger generation fight for accountability is a key ingredient in building the political will required to not only prosecute the corrupt but also to finally build a resilient Philippines that can withstand both the literal and figurative floods that threaten to drown it.

-Asia Media Centre