Daven Tamayo

Boardroom Tea: Why is the stock market shrugging off the flood projects scandal?

Article (news)

Salve Ibaňez

ABS-CBN News

The Philippine Stock Exchange index refuses to be roused from its deep sleep—not even by the explosive congressional probe into alleged corruption in government flood control projects.Market practitioners say technically, the PSEi should be throwing a tantrum. This magnitude of taxpayer theft crowds out private investment since we&#x27;re all paying interest on borrowed money to fund phantom infrastructure. When government debt competes aggressively in capital markets, productive private sector projects get starved of funding. The math is brutal: fewer real bridges, more ghost projects.Some argue political upheavals traditionally spook markets. Not this time. The PSEi remains stubbornly uninterested, even bored, hovering around 6,100.But in boardrooms across the archipelago—except, presumably, in companies neck-deep in these shenanigans—the singular whisper crescendos: somebody must go to jail. Enough with the moro-moro theatrics, the grandstanding that inevitably returns to business as usual, often with worse corruption compounding annually, corporate directors say. The impunity is sickening since while millions remain jobless, hungry, and unable to send children to school.Corporate directors confide their revulsion at 40-plus luxury cars (some number it at 80, some at 20) that are flaunted while 20 million Filipinos endure abject poverty and the next 20 million teeter one emergency away from destitution.The flood control ghost projects represent merely the visible tip. Housing projects? The talk is that billions of them are in phantom construction. Roads and bridges? The talk is that SOP percentages have escalated so drastically that smaller contractors now coordinate among themselves—scheduling who wins which contract in orderly rotation, sharing kickbacks with mathematical precision. Simpler? Neater? Everyone wins except the nation.To accommodate these &quot;marketing budgets&quot; across government levels, boardrooms are awash with talk that contractors slash project quality. But if you think through it, it’s not as if they are sacrificing their gains. The Bentleys of the Discayas are simply the visible ones on the ground. How about the ultimate status symbols: ACH130s and ACH145s—Airbus Corporate Helicopters with Mercedes-Benz-inspired customization. Or the Bell 525 Relentless, all sleek design and advanced avionics.Flexing from 3,000 feet, apparently.Of all the strange and juicy stories I have heard this week, this is what made me genuinely howl: Years ago, contractors dealing with any government agency have to make sure they set aside cuts for a group called the &quot;Insert President&#x27;s Name Boys.&quot; Even after that administration ended, they&#x27;re still collecting!Compounding returns for life—now that&#x27;s financial planning.Meanwhile, honest government workhorses ensuring that government services continue and governance functions are uninterrupted are enduring their quiet despair. Yes, they exist! And I believe it is ultimately more painful for them, because as they serve the nation in their dusty offices, they imagine their counterparts raking in the money.This despair demands tangible reform—someone must go to jail—or we&#x27;ll surrender every economic, social, and political freedom our predecessors bled to secure.The choice couldn&#x27;t be starker.

Years ago, contractors dealing with any government agency had to make sure they set aside cuts for a group called the "Insert President's Name Boys." Even after that administration ended, they're still collecting!

Years ago, contractors dealing with any government agency had to make sure they set aside cuts for a group called the "Insert President's Name Boys." Even after that administration ended, they're still collecting!

Boardroom Tea: Why is the stock market shrugging off the flood control projects scandal?

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Boardroom Tea: Why is the stock market shrugging off the flood control projects scandal?

Salve Ibaňez,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 11, 2025 08:43 PM PHT

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Updated September 11, 2025 08:49 PM PHT

Read More:

Boardroom tea

corporate chatter

PSEi

stocks

DPWH

flood control

corruption

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