Thousands take to streets as Philippines protests flood control fraud | News

MANILA, Sept 21, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Thousands of Filipinos gathered Sunday in Manila to express their anger over a ballooning scandal involving bogus flood-control projects believed to have cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Rage over the so-called ghost infrastructure projects has been mounting in the Southeast Asian country since President Ferdinand Marcos put them centre stage in a July state of the nation address that followed weeks of deadly flooding. On Monday, Marcos said he did not blame people for protesting "one bit" while calling for demonstrations to remain peaceful. The army has been placed on "red alert" as a precaution. "There were times I personally waded through floods," Aly Villahermosa, a 23-year-old nursing student from Metro Manila told AFP...