Why Floods Are Bringing Filipino Protesters to the Streets

Protests erupted across the Philippines and paralyzed the capital Manila on Sunday over a corruption scandal involving flood-control projects in a nation battered by storms and poverty.

Thousands of Filipinos massed in the capital on the main Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, a historic highway known by its acronym EDSA, many either clad in white or wearing a white ribbon, and braving extreme heat and rain. Protesters hoisted the Philippines’ national flag, while some flew the Japanese anime One Piece’s Jolly Roger—a symbol of dissent popularized by the protests in Indonesia. In one corner, priests held a mass. In another, a group chanted and called Philippine President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to resign.

A few kilometers west, near the President’s official residence and office, chaos ensued. A youth-led protest led to a trailer truck being set on fire. Several masked rioters in black pelted stones at police guarding the presidential seat. Police fired water cannons to disperse the mob.

September 21 holds special significance for Filipinos, since on that day in 1972, Marcos Jr.’s father, the late President Ferdinand Marcos, announced nationwide martial law that commenced a two-decade period of authoritarianism and led to the arrest of some 70,000 people, the torture of about 34,000, and the killing of at least 3,240. The elder Marcos was only toppled in the largely peaceful “People Power” protest in 1986, which also occupied EDSA.

More than five decades later, Filipinos are protesting a different form of abuse—public officials’ and public works contractors’ alleged theft of potentially billions of dollars from government coffers through flood-control projects. 

Marcos Jr. appears to deviate from his father—notorious for crackdowns on dissidents and protests—by encouraging the demonstrations. “Do you…