Mud splattered across gates. Walls daubed with “thief” and “corrupt”. In the Philippines, anger over the misuse of funds set aside for flood control projects has found its target: the properties of contractors accused of siphoning off billions and the offices of government agencies.
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After rallying outside the Department of Public Works and Highways and pelting it with waste water-filled balloons and rotten fruit on Thursday, protesters descended on the House of Representatives the day afterwards while lawmakers were in session.
Police blocked their entry, but the demonstrators – some of whom had lost homes to floods across Metro Manila and nearby provinces in July – defaced the building’s facade in their anger.
The protests erupted in response to July’s floods, which caused widespread loss and property damage despite more than 545 billion pesos (US$9.4 billion) having been spent on flood control projects under the aegis of the public works department since 2022.
A government-ordered investigation revealed a swathe of incomplete, substandard or nonexistent projects, with just 15 out of 2,409 registered contractors cornering 100 billion pesos worth of contracts, leaving the remaining 436 billion pesos spread thinly among the others.
Investigators said some contracts were issued for roads and canals that do not exist.
‘The people’s anger’