Around September, videos about the uprising that  occurred in Nepal circulated across the internet, with a large group of Gen Z protestors successfully overthrowing their corrupt government. You may have seen videos of their government buildings in flames, or posts highlighting the fact that they voted for their interim prime minister on Discord, the last app you’d ever expect for an election. 

The events that occurred in Nepal are a critical aspect of civics and voicing political discontent. But if you thought the political discourse occurring in Asia was over after Nepal, you’d be way off.

The next country with major protests rattling the streets is the Philippines, an archipelago country found in Southeast Asia. 

Due to its geographical location, the Philippines is prone to tropical cyclones, or typhoons, year-round. On average, the Philippines experiences at least 8-9 typhoons every year, bringing high winds and flooding throughout the year. 

In fact, the Philippines was just recently hit by Typhoon Kalmaegi (or known locally as Typhoon Tino), impacting the island of Cebu and other nearby islands.The flooding and high winds from Kalmaegi has led to the deaths of over 100 people, and many more are still missing. This comes recently after the area was impacted by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake, with many cities in Cebu still trying to recover from damages caused.

Like every storm, the strong tidal waves and heavy rainfall from typhoons and typical storms brings flooding. Flooding is extremely common in the Philippines, especially when they can get an annual rainfall of up to 160 inches. 

In a country with so much annual rainfall, surely there are precautions that can be taken to reduce flooding, right? 

The Flood Control Projects

To combat the flooding, current president of the Philippines Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. implemented country-wide flood projects at the beginning of his presidency that aimed to decrease the amount of flooding occurring after heavy rainfall. 

Some of the things that were included in the plans included flood mitigation structures, drainage structures, and repairs to already existing structures in flood-prone regions. In total, the 9,855 projects planned across the country cost nearly ₱545 billion, or $9.4B.

However, it’s speculated that including Marcos’ plans, the Philippines has spent a total of ₱1.9 trillion on flood control that has failed to show results.

With that much money being invested, and a recent ₱545 billion worth for projects spanning over the course of three years, you’d expect for there to be fairly good progress by now. But as time passed, extreme flooding still continued to occur. 

Many residents began to question where all their money was going if such little progress was being made. How can the flooding possibly continue to be that bad if billions are being spent on flood control?

This all changed on August 20th, when President Marcos visited a flood control construction site in Bulacan, intending to talk about the progress the projects have had thus far. However what greeted him at the site was virtually nothing. 

This prompted the discovery of various untouched flood control projects that were either claimed to be finished or ‘under construction’. The lack of progress with these projects earned them the name “ghost flood projects” since nothing actually happened with the sites. 

But if these flood control projects aren’t happening, then where are all these pesos going? 

Money Money Money

As more Filipinos realized that their money wasn’t going towards the flood control they’d been promised, many began to question where all their tax money went. After all, it would be expected for the disappearance of billions of dollars to be noticeable. 

Citizens began turning towards social media, a place that often fosters connections that unsheath information. What they found in their search for answers about the flood projects were designer bags and luxury cars. 

While the average Filipino was struggling with raging flood waters, the families of multiple politicians and contractors were living lavishly without a shed of worry. These individuals who had been involved in the planning and construction of the flood control projects have been taking the money for themselves and doing nothing with the actual projects, causing the countless ghost projects across the country. 

However, this wasn’t discovered just because of the politicians and contractors. It was possible thanks in part to their children.

Videos of the involved figures and their children began circulating online, with some of these individuals showing off their extensive luxury car collections, latest purchases, and spare money. 

As these videos were discovered, more and more people began targeting these individuals, referring to the children of these figures as  ‘nepo babies’ and criticizing them for having the nerve to show off money that came from taxpayers. 

Due to the backlash, many of these ‘nepo babies’ and politicians have deactivated their accounts and stayed off social media, waiting for the attention to die down. Unfortunately for them, the people don’t intend to forget anytime soon.

It is believed that tens of thousands of people have participated in protests against the corrupt government. Many individuals have also heavily relied on social media to create videos and posts talking about the current political climate. 

There have been many different types of posts, including skits, informative posts, and AI videos and art depicting politicians with crocodiles, acting as a symbol of the greed and corruption found in the current government.

Protests continue to be planned into December, despite the initial uproar beginning in late September and early October.  One of the most notable protests, the Trillion Peso March, plans to hold another demonstration on November 30th. 

The people of the Philippines have demonstrated an act of courage and resilience in response to the corruption found within their government. By taking action they’ve shown that the thoughts of the people matter and they show the importance of being able to congregate and protest.