Flood Works Scandal Sparks Anti-Corruption Protest in the Philippines

Thousands of Filipinos protested in Manila Sunday amid a corruption scandal involving money for flood prevention projects.

Transcript

00:00Police barricades go up in the Philippines.

00:07But the barbed wire cordon can't contain protesters' rage at the country's political elite.

00:17For months, there have been allegations politicians, officials, and construction firms pocketed

00:26tens of millions of US dollars meant for flood prevention projects.

00:37And in the Philippines, flood prevention is serious business.

00:41It's not even a month since the latest in a string of powerful typhoons left whole towns underwater.

00:47While there's more than one protest Sunday, their goals are the same.

00:54They all want the money returned, and those involved in the corruption jailed.

01:00And there have been some arrests.

01:03But despite government promises that, quote, big fish are coming soon,

01:07some here think higher-ops involved in the corruption are protected.

01:11One citing figures given by a former justice minister.

01:14It's been five months since the flood control scam erupted,

01:19and no high official has been jailed yet.

01:21According to what Ombudsman Ramula said, at least 10% of Congress is involved in the anomalies

01:27and the flood control projects.

01:29A case has been filed and a warrant issued for only one person.

01:32The senators and congressmen involved have still not been jailed.

01:36There's even suspicion that corruption goes all the way to the top.

01:46In particular, we are demanding that the investigations into the issues of corruption be expanded,

01:53to include not just the lower rank public officials, but from the bottom to the top,

02:00up until the president of the Philippines himself, Ferdinand Marcos,

02:04who we think has a big role in this systemic and widespread corruption in the country.

02:10The roughly 17,000 police in place outnumbered the protesters, but the turnout was broad,

02:20from left-wing groups to rosary-wielding Catholic parishioners and their priests,

02:27a reflection of widespread anger that doesn't look to be waning soon.

02:31Dolphine Chen and John Van Trieste for Taiwan Plus.