Late August 2026 saw devastating floods throughout my home province of Pampanga, causing immense damage across the streets of the towns and especially towards vital infrastructure. This leads us to examine the impact of this event, and the chances of a smooth recovery
There have been many longstanding allegations of serious corruption and misuse of money in the government control projects. A clear example of this was in 2025, when heavy protests took place after the ‘Nepo Baby Scandal’, accusing government officials of stealing money reserved for flood control projects and spending them on luxury items. This directly links to the prospects for recovery in Pampanga after these recent floods, where recover will be nowhere as quick as it would have been if the money for flood control had been kept safe from corruption.
Flood control projects in the Philippines suffer not only from theft but also because of the implementation of substandard projects. This means that infrastructure built to prevent damage from floods does exist, but they are not of a sufficient standard. This could be due to the use of cheaper materials for these projects, which means that the effectiveness of flood prevention is a lot lower. This was the case in Pampanga and as a result, Pampanga suffered horrible flooding across the province, with many losing their homes of places of work, and even the lives of people close to them.