Half a century after his father declared martial law, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr is confronting his own crisis: a corruption scandal of dizzying scale, coup rumours in the air and tens of thousands of Filipinos preparing to march on the streets of Manila.
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Adding to the pressure, Beijing has signalled a readiness to cement its de facto control over the contested Scarborough Shoal – a move analysts warn could permanently alter the strategic map of the South China Sea.
“He’s beleaguered and it’s a major crisis,” Dr Jean Franco, political scientist at the University of the Philippines, told This Week in Asia. “And it can … make or break his legacy.”
At the heart of the domestic uproar are revelations of staggering corruption in flood control. For years, billions of pesos were funnelled into supposed projects that proved dangerously inadequate, or in some cases simply fictitious. Instead, recorded evidence has shown that the funds went to line the pockets of contractors, politicians and government officials.
Public rage erupted late last month after torrential rain submerged swathes of Manila, prompting more questions about the government’s flood defences. Outrage only deepened when one viral video showed one contractor, until recently a receptionist, boasting of her 28 luxury cars, including a Rolls-Royce bought, she said, because it came with an umbrella she desired.
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