From a skyscraper in downtown Manila, a sea of white spreads out below, covering the vast green lawns of Rizal Park and expanding down arterial roads and sidestreets. It is formed of more than half a million people, clad in matching white T-shirts, the slogan “transparency for a better democracy” emblazoned on their chests.
The focus of the fury is on company owners, government officials and parliament members accused of pocketing billions in funds for substandard or nonexistent flood protection projects. Since the scandal began, the country’s economic planning minister has said up to 70% of public funds allotted for flood control may have been lost to corruption; some senators have estimated 50%. Government investigators have discovered more than 400 “ghost” flood protection projects that were reported to have been completed but turned out to be nonexistent.
The absence of those protections is felt keenly in the Philippines, where hundreds of people have died in typhoon-related flooding over the past month. More than 20 typhoons have hit the country’s territory this year, and extreme weather increasingly derails daily life. As the rally formed on Sunday, authorities and families were still searching for those missing from Typhoon Kalmaegi, which ripped through the country in early November, killing at least 269. The 100 or so still missing are likely to also have been killed. Days after Kalgaemi blew through, Typhoon Fung-wong arrived, causing more devastating floods, displacing 1.4 million people and killing another 28.
Just a side note: This specific protest was organized by a powerful religious sect that practices block voting, meaning all members vote for the policitcians the church leaders endorse. So political candidates go out of their way to court that sect to corner a significant number of votes.
Guess who they endorsed in the last election? The current Marcos Jr. administration. I guess credit to them that they are expressing their displeasure to what’s happening instead of sticking to their support no matter what, but remember they are one of the reasons for this clusterfuck in the first place.
This group is also aligned (though they deny it) with the vice president who will become president if the current one steps down.
Not that the current vice president is the current front-runner for the next presidential race, supported by this group.
When the leaders are the son of an ex-dictator and the daughter of an ex-president charged with crimes against humanity, you’re gonna see some trickle down corruption.
The Guardian is actually sending journalists on the ground 👏👏
This is why I support them.
You don’t understand. We need to do the corruption. The corruption is vital to the national economy. Without the corruption, China will win. Do you want China to win? What are you, some kind of Communist? We’ll kill you!
