Philippine flood-control scandal resurfaces after latest monsoon deluge

The latest floods to hit Metro Manila and parts of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon have turned a familiar seasonal disaster into a renewed test of political accountability for President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, as anger over allegedly corrupt flood-control projects returns to the centre of public debate.

Analysts said the deluge had sharpened scrutiny of the slow-moving investigation into allegedly substandard and non-existent flood-control works, exposing the gap between Marcos’ anti-corruption message and the lack of visible results in communities that continue to bear the brunt of extreme weather.

Metro Manila was inundated on Monday with 201.7 mm of rain in just five hours, leaving residents wading through floodwaters, vehicles stranded and some areas not usually considered flood-prone submerged.

Outside the capital, villages across parts of Luzon were also swamped after weeks of southwest monsoon rains, forcing thousands of families from their homes and reviving a familiar question: why does the country keep flooding despite huge sums spent to prevent it?

That frustration was reflected by Senator Panfilo Lacson, who questioned why communities continued to be submerged year after year, despite nearly 2 trillion pesos (US$32.4 billion) being poured into flood-control projects since 2011.