Philippines corruption scandal sparks mass protests as President Marcos backs public anger: Video
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has voiced support for mass anti-corruption demonstrations set for September 21, saying he shared the public’s anger over the flood-control scandal and might be “out on the streets” himself if he weren’t president.
Two major protests are gathering momentum ahead of Sunday, following weeks of congressional hearings that have revealed extensive graft linked to flood-control infrastructure projects — many allegedly carried out in cahoots with lawmakers.
September 21 will also mark the 53rd anniversary of Martial Law, a period marked by corruption and human rights abuses under the dictatorship of Marcos’s father and namesake.
''Do you blame them for going out to the street? If I wasn't President, I might be out in the streets with them,” Marcos said at a September 15 press briefing. “Of course they are enraged, they are angry. I'm angry. We should all be angry because what's happening is not right.”
Corruption surrounding flood-control projects has dominated national discourse this month in the Philippines, widely regarded as the world’s most disaster-prone country because of its proximity to the Pacific Ocean, where most of the world’s typhoons form.
Greenpeace Philippines estimated that as much as P1.089 trillion ($18.9 billion) in climate-related spending has been lost to corruption since 2023, including ₱173 million ($3 million) meant for flood-control projects.
The scandal has led to the ouster of Senate President Francis Escudero, whose top campaign donor was a construction magnate whose firm had secured P5.16 billion ($90 million) worth of flood-control contracts. The revelations followed Marcos’s decision to release a list of the top 15 contractors awarded such projects.
“To show that you are enraged, to show that you are angry, to show that you are disappointed, to show that you want justice, to show that you want fairness, what's wrong with that?” Marcos said.
“I want to show that there is justice. I want to show that there is fairness. I want to hold these people accountable. So, I don't blame them, not one bit.”
Marcos had said he was “very upset” about the corruption scandal — not disheartened, not just disappointed, but “very, very angry.”
Fears of Nepal-like protests
Some 267 groups and public figures are expected to gather on Sunday at the EDSA People Power Monument, a historic uprising site where hundreds of thousands of Filipinos massed in 1986 to force the Marcos family into exile.
Another large demonstration is planned for Luneta Park on the same day.
Asked whether he feared the protests might swell to the scale of recent uprisings in Nepal or Indonesia, Marcos said such a scenario would only occur if the government failed to address the root cause.
“You have to remember I brought this up and it is my interest that we find a solution to what has become very egregious problem,” he said. “Since this has all been exposed, well it's actually known to many people but it has now been exposed to the general public.”
“Just keep it peaceful. It’ll be difficult if it’s not peaceful. We will have to, the police will have to do its duty to maintain peace and order.”
For some time, the Philippines served as the world’s blueprint for a peaceful uprising. The 1986 People Power Revolution ended the first Marcos presidency, sending the family packing into exile in Hawaii.
Now president, Marcos — who has spent much of his political career attempting to rehabilitate his family’s name — faces a corruption scandal threatening to trigger a mass uprising of his own.
The Philippine president has appointed an independent commission to investigate a decade’s worth of flood-control projects, spanning three presidencies.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
