This growing corruption crisis outraged thousands of Filipinos, especially after the devastating floods that affected several regions a few weeks ago.

The country’s president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., highlighted this problem in a national address in July, when he pointed out the existence of so-called “ghost projects” for infrastructure, financed with taxpayer money.

Hundreds of thousands of people immediately began to demonstrate their discontent through street protests, prompting the armed forces to declare a red alert as a precaution.

The scandal led to recent changes in the leadership of both houses of Congress.

In addition, owners of a construction company reported that about 30 lawmakers and officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways received bribes linked to these fictitious projects.

According to the Philippine Department of Finance, corruption related to flood control projects resulted in an economic loss of up to 118.5 billion Philippine pesos (about US$2 billion) between 2023 and 2025, which negatively affected the economy and public confidence.

abo/jav/mem/msm