Typhoon Kalmaegi caused widespread destruction and flooding in the central Philippines, killing at least 114 people and leaving 127 missing. Local officials suggest that persistent graft in flood-control projects significantly worsened the disaster’s impact.
The death toll reached at least 114, with 127 people still missing. Seventy-one of the casualties occurred in the central province of Cebu, which was already struggling to recover from a 6.9-magnitude earthquake two months prior. Following the devastation, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declared a state of national calamity.
Typhoon Kalmaegi made landfall on Tuesday as a Category 1-equivalent hurricane, bringing unusually heavy rainfall. Cebu received over 7 inches of rain in the 24 hours preceding landfall—roughly equivalent to a month and a half’s worth of rain typically seen in November. This heavy precipitation caused rivers to overflow, triggering landslides, washing away entire communities, and leveling homes. Power lines and trees were also toppled by strong winds.
However, the destruction was magnified by the collapse of flood-control infrastructure, which was intended to protect citizens during such events. This failure has once again focused national attention on a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal involving substandard public works projects, a major point of contention for Filipinos in recent months.
While civil defense officials continue search-and-rescue operations, there is fear that the toll—both in terms of casualties and damage—will continue to climb. Public anger at the government’s perceived role in exacerbating the disaster is also escalating, especially since the Philippines, which is regularly battered by typhoons and is highly vulnerable to climate change, is bracing for another supertyphoon later this week.
How Corruption May Have Cost Lives
Cebu Governor Pam Baricuatro described the event as “by far the worst flash flood caused by a typhoon” in the province’s history, impacting over 35 municipalities. She noted that the rapid rise of water hampered evacuation efforts, leaving people with “no time to flee; all they could do was head up to their roofs.”
Baricuatro publicly vented her frustration regarding the failure of supposed mitigation efforts, noting on Facebook: “₱26 billion ($440 million) of flood control funds for Cebu yet we are flooded to the max.”
These comments align with months of national outrage over controversial flood-control projects. Investigations launched in mid-2025 revealed that many projects initiated since President Marcos took office in 2022 were either non-existent, incomplete, or finished to substandard specifications. Critics allege that billions of dollars earmarked for these essential public works were instead stolen through kickbacks and overpriced materials.
In response to the scandal, Filipinos staged a mass protest on Sept. 21 demanding accountability. Governor Baricuatro, who assumed office in June, confirmed that her inspection of flood-control measures in Cebu uncovered “ghost projects” and “substandard projects,” mirroring issues found in the northern parts of the country.
President Marcos, scheduled to inspect the damage in Cebu on Friday, has ordered an investigation into the province’s flood-control projects. According to a presidential spokesperson, records show that 343 flood control projects were constructed in the province between 2016 and 2022, followed by another 168 projects built from 2023 to 2025.
Growing Public Rage and Upcoming Protests
The Sept. 21 protest successfully brought together members of Philippine civil society demanding government accountability. In response, the government established an independent commission to investigate anomalies in the flood-control projects. In late October, this commission recommended filing criminal and administrative charges against several high-ranking officials, including a former public works undersecretary, two sitting Senators, and former members of the House of Representatives. The commission also agreed to livestream hearings related to the projects following pressure for transparency from civil society groups.
Despite these actions, public frustration continues to mount because no one has been jailed. Jean Franco, a professor of political science at the University of the Philippines, emphasizes that “The public really needs to see someone be put in jail.” She added that this would provide “initial closure” and that the public demands accountability not only from contractors but also from politicians, as this would demonstrate the administration’s “mettle and the sincerity.” Franco believes the latest flooding in Cebu will only intensify public anger.
Vince Dizon, the newly appointed Secretary of Public Works and Highways tasked with ending corruption in these projects, promised that someone would be jailed by Christmastime. However, civil society groups are growing impatient with the pace of resolution. Father Wilmer Tria, speaking last month, criticized the investigating commission as merely a “plunderer’s laundromat,” where “soiled” politicians are “dumped in the washing machine, spun for a bit, and after that, they’ll become clean again.”
Tria, who serves as the national secretariat of the Trillion Peso March movement, is planning another nationwide protest on Nov. 30 to decry the slow resolution of the corruption cases. President Marcos has urged the protesters to remain peaceful, citing pockets of violence during the Sept. 21 demonstrations.
“People distrust government in a way that they’re not very hopeful that someone will really be put to jail. They see that there are collusions. There are people high up there who’re trying to hide or collude with each other so that they are not held accountable. That’s why people have to find another way to hold them accountable,” Franco adds.
Cleve Arguelles, a political scientist based in Manila, suggests that the persistent and non-discriminatory impact of typhoons will help sustain this rage-fueled movement. He notes that while protest culture was suppressed under former strongman leader Rodrigo Duterte (2016 to 2022), the flood-control corruption scandal has provided the necessary spark for its revival. Arguelles observed that protesters must “outlast those who are involved, because the practice in the Philippines, especially if it involves big politicians, big dynastic politicians, is that they just try to wait and try to outlast public indignation.”
Arguelles warns that if President Marcos, the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., fails to adequately address the protesters’ demands, popular unrest could escalate to the point of ousting top officials. He draws parallels to historical Philippine movements, such as the removal of Marcos Sr. in the late 1980s and President Joseph Estrada in 2001, as well as recent protest movements across Asia.
“The attempt to do another protest—and I know that it will not stop on November 30,” Arguelles concluded, “is to sustain and to ensure that there is enough public attention for us to see through this entire case.”
