Thousands in Philippines protest corruption, demand return of stolen funds

Tuesday, December 2, 2025 -On Sunday, thousands of demonstrators — including clergy from the Roman Catholic Church — took to the streets in Manila and across the Philippines to demand justice after a major corruption scandal linked to flood‑control projects. Protesters called for the swift prosecution of top legislators, officials, and construction‑company executives accused of misusing public funds.

The protests were driven by anger over substandard, defective, or entirely nonexistent flood‑control infrastructure — projects that had been funded by taxpayers but allegedly built with graft and mismanagement. Many demanded that stolen funds be returned and guilty parties imprisoned. A Catholic priest at the rally described the misuse of public money as not only a crime, but a “sin against the country — and against God.”

In response to the demonstrations, authorities have already jailed at least seven public‑works officers, frozen some 12 billion pesos in assets tied to the scandal, and secured the return of around 110 million pesos in admitted kickbacks — with more investigations and arrests expected.