Flood scandal spurs political risk

Protests against massive corruption in the rollout of billions of pesos in “ghost” or substandard flood control projects in recent years are expected to snowball and heighten political risks in the Philippines, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

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“The Marcos Jr. administration is likely to announce a relief package as a result of flooding due to Super Typhoon ‘Ragasa.’ However, this will not quell social unrest, and we expect the protests to continue in the near term,” said EIU Asia analyst Kalyani Honrao in a Sept. 24 report titled “Anti-corruption protests raise risks to political stability,” a copy of which was obtained by Manila Bulletin.

“Ragasa,” known locally as “Nando,” intensified into a super typhoon on Sept. 21, the same day thousands of Filipinos protested against the misuse of public funds following the flood control scandal involving public works officials and legislators who hold the power of the purse.