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Editor | L.Y.
Preliminary
In front of the presidential palace of Maracanã, the burning container truck burned black smoke, tear gas was unopened, burning bottles struck on the road barrier to explode fireworks ——This is not a movie scene, it is a real picture confirmed by Central News and Xinhua News Agency on September 22.
On the same day, more than 20 cities in the Philippines simultaneously erupted protests, almost 100 thousand people rushed to the streets shouting "Get me back the flood money", but President Marcos was missing, and the military ringed the highest level of "red alert" ten days in advance, the country stood in the eye of the storm overnight.
The Black Hole Corruption
The source of this storm is hidden in the floods of this year's rainy season. Continuous typhoons have affected millions of people in the Philippines, and more than 300,000 people have been forced to evacuate. However, the flood control projects promised by the government to "save lives and protect the city" have failed. After tracing, people found that the 545 billion pesos flood control project showed that it was "100% completed" on the books, but even the complete dam was hard to find on the ground.
The riverbank in Kalupit collapsed in just three years, and the reconstruction budget doubled; The documents of the berm project in Bulacan Province are detailed, but the site is overgrown with weeds. According to data from the Philippine Ministry of Finance, from 2023 to 2025, corruption losses from flood control projects have reached 118.5 billion pesos, while the actual amount estimated by Greenpeace is close to US $17.6 billion. This fund, enough to cover the national rice reserve for three years, finally became the footnote of the "paper project".
The scandal quickly involved the core of power. Martin Romualdez, cousin of the president and speaker of the House of Representatives, resigned sadly, escudero, president of the Senate, was dismissed, and the Ministry of Public Works urgently dismissed relevant personnel and launched an investigation, but these actions have been unable to quell public anger."What they are building is not a dam, but their own purse." A Manila citizen who lost his home in the flood yelled at the camera, with wet bedding drying behind him.
20-city linkage
The protest on September 21st was by no means a coincidence.This day was the anniversary of the proclamation of the rule of law by Old Marcos in 1972, when historical memory and reality outbursted.Fifty thousand people gathered in the early morning at Manilari Brake Park, with students, lawyers and teachers holding the sign “public asset tax bills” and speakers turning to reveal the details of corruption; before the People’s Power Monument in Queens, fifteen thousand people pulled a banner covering the foundation to recall the “People’s Power Revolution” of 1986.
Social media enabled the protests to quickly break through geographical restrictions. Public trucks blocked the streets in the fog, the crowd on Davos Square pulled hands to form a wall, the fishing boat at the port of Iloilo whispered, factory workers in Badangas took a toolbox to the venue, and the people on Lake Laguna crossed the bridge. As of the afternoon of the same day, more than 20 cities across the country have synchronized protests, and live broadcasts on short video platforms have shaped action across the country.
The situation in Manila took a sharp turn in the afternoon. Demonstrators in front of the presidential palace began throwing stones and glass bottles, and some masked people waved black flags with skull designs and threw Molotov cocktails at the police front. The police fought back with high-pressure water cannons and tear gas. In the smoke, the trailer was ignited and then lost control and crashed into the roadblock, and the iron barrier of the palace gate was hot. The Philippine police said on Monday that 205 people were injured, including 129 police officers, 76 civilians and one man killed, 216 were arrested, including 89 minors.
Missing President
While the chaos escalated, President Marcos’s departure became the biggest mystery. Since his birthday on September 13, he has not appeared publicly, nor has he responded to corruption questions, nor has he made a statement on national unrest. There were four rumors: Some say he was transferred by the military to a secret base on the island of Liu Song, some speculate that he had left the country, and reports that he was in urgent consultations with the core sheriff.
Mr. Castro, a spokesman for the Presidential Office, responded vaguely, “The President is in control of the whole situation,” but refused to disclose where the situation was located. This silence complicated the situation. Earlier on September 12, the military had entered the “red alert” state, with more than 20,000 police officers and rapid reaction troops cancelled the holiday, and three layers of road barriers were added around the Presidential Palace, with sandbags piled up to one in height.
Political games are staged simultaneously. The Marcos government suggested that the riots were controlled by the Duterte family, calling the participants "hired thugs"; Paul, the son of Duterte, publicly accused Marcos of fighting corruption "just for show", saying that his family "covered up the transfer of interests in the name of incorruptibility".The clash between the two large families has added more variation to the previously chaotic political situation.
The extinguished flames and the unsuspecting anger.
In the early morning of September 22nd, the smoke in Manila gradually dispersed. There are blackened traces left on the porch of the presidential palace. Cleaners are shoveling up blackened tire residues and bagging them. The burned vehicle wreckage has been towed away, but the oil stains and bullet marks on the road are still clearly visible. Stocks fell at the open, the peso hit a new recent low and the chart lines at investor meetings continued to move lower.
The international community responded quickly. The United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and New Zealand simultaneously issued travel warnings to remind citizens to avoid political activities.While the Philippines' statements on the South China Sea issue are rarely low-tone, on September 16, when China's naval police carried out control tasks in the waters of Huangshan Island, the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs only carried one, and the previous fierce reaction formed a clear contrast to the fire at the door, and no one cared about the sea."
conclusion
Opposition lawmakers submitted impeachment bills and the ruling party read economic data to try to stabilize people’s minds, but the controversy on the scene was broadcast live across the country. It is also worth noting that the protest was mainly 18 to 25 year olds, more than 60 percent, who did not rely on political party organizations, but through short videos exposing corruption and using live broadcast mobilization actions, formed the “people’s revolution in the digital age”.
On the afternoon, the road barrier around the Southern Palace was again strengthened, and the footsteps of the military police were especially clear in the empty streets. The flames of the Presidential Palace had been extinguished, but the street people held candles connected to the long dragon.
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