$30 Billion Gone from PH Stock Market Due to Corruption Worries

So I just saw that about ₱1.7 trillion, which is around $30 billion, got wiped off the Philippine stock market because of fears about corruption. That's an insane amount. It really makes you think about the level of confidence investors lost to have such a huge drop happen so fast. It raises questions about the future of the Philippine economy. If investors are this uneasy because of corruption, it shows that it’s not just about the stock market anymore, but about how much trust people have in the whole system. When trust disappears, businesses hold back on investing, foreign capital starts to flee, and the economy gets hit hard. The frustrating part is that corruption isn't some new phenomenon here. But when it starts to shake investor confidence this badly, it means people are clearly not just aware of it; they're reacting to it. You can push for better infrastructure and more trade, but if investors think things aren't fair, value can drop like a rock in no time. What do you all think about this? Is it just a short-lived panic in the market, or are we really witnessing the long-term repercussions of corruption affecting our economy?

There’s a reason for the wipeout, and it’s tied to the current state of the government - corruption everywhere. So yeah, it might look temporary, but it won’t really change unless those behind the flood control and infrastructure corruption get jailed, which I honestly doubt under the current admin. Most likely, the market will only skyrocket again once a new leader takes over in 2028, as long as it’s not one of their allies.

Even if this is a real thing that a normal person can see due to the corruption that's happening here. There's a statement from the government that disproves this as a fake news[1] and not real. They're not going to admit any fault that they can see. Because even those who are mentioned and part of the flood control/ghost projects aren't even chased by our government even if they have the power to do so. They've got leads where the mastermind and hands of this corruption and yet, they can't even cancel their passports. I am not surprised if the business confidence from foreign investors are of negative. [1] Palace says SEC claim on P1.7-T market wipeout based on ‘fake news’ Another thing this issue from Norway that a Filipino was declared for the exchange of money due to the corruption here. Gretchen Ho’s family denied from exchanging foreign currency due to corruption in the Philippines Very shameful of what's happening but life must move on and hopefully, there will be people that will put behind bars.

I cannot say for sure, i am not from the Philippines, but i read about the flood control project scandal and the protests that followed it, with protesters calling for a change and protests turning violent in certain locations. I think that is enough to shake investor confidence and cause a large number of them to pull out and put their funds into better reliable markets. That said, the market is more or less moved by supply and demand. So we cannot predict the longevity of this downturn, if investor confidence rise again and there are more of them willing to buy than sell, then the market would start recovering.

Like what I saw in the comments, Bob Marley once said, “You can never get justice in a world where criminals make the rules.” And that’s exactly what’s happening in the Philippines right now, the country’s being run by syndicates, and you don’t even know who to trust anymore. If we’re expecting these people to be jailed, that’s wishful thinking. It’ll only happen if the current leadership gets ousted, not under the system we have right now.

From the report the SEC chairman Francis Lim, is saying that investors are fleeing because of "weak integrity", obviously when the system is compromised investors will lose trust and that is the worst any economy would want to face, $30 billion wiped off in a developing economy like Philippine is a lot of money just going out of the wind, nobody with sane mind will invest his money in a chaotic environment, were trust is a scarce commodity. The Filipino government need to fight corruption so that they can build investors confidence again, trust me there are a lot of investors that want to invest their money in a developing economy, but not in a country that the rule of law is compromised.

From my little experience, I have observed two factors that can destroy the confidence of investors. The first one is insecurity caused by war, conflict or others. Investors want to ensure that their money is safe. So they will pull out immediately from any area that is going through a crisis. The second one is corruption. These vices could lead to the failure of government policies. Investors can be attracted by some good policies of the government, but corruption can adversely affect its implementation, leading to loss of capital. In the case of the Philippines, corruption and the recent natural disaster might have contributed to Investors' loss of confidence, leading to losses in the stock market. If the country gets a new government that is less corrupt,  investors might begin to build confidence in the economic sector of the Philippines.

So much depends on how serious and consistent the government's efforts are to earn the trust of investors. The first step is to go after these corrupt officials and lawmakers. The corruption is so massive that we need new leaders who can gain the trust of the people and investors. The country is divided. The biggest failure is that people and lawmakers are trusting their faith in leaders instead of being patriotic and thinking of the weklfare of the country. I heard one radio broadcaster telling people that there are no Filipinos anymore, only DDS, Kakampink and BBM loyalists; Filipinos are too much into politics.

The right number is not 30$ billion ( ₱1.7 trillion) the sec shared the report and later they said the news they followed was false and the government has also said the news is false about the  ₱1.7 trillion amount getting wiped out from the market over the span of three weeks. According to the wikipedia, there were 5,500 projects that were related to flood were started by the gov and now they are being accused of corruption, the total investment on them ₱500 billion. So in short, the investors of those 5,500 projects did the right thing if they were listed on somewhere and was getting traded. I don't know if that's possible for a project to be traded before their completion. Corruption will eventually burst out, the examples are in front of us Nepal, Bangladesh, the people their chose to write their own destiny.

That's where the problems lies, if these people are this corrupt they will do everything possible to make sure that whoever will take over power will be one of their allies, that way they are sure that they won't be persecuted. Knowing fully well that if they allow opposition to take over power that they will be persecuted. This is an organised system that has been well calculated by these politicians to make sure that they don't answer for the economic crimes they committed while in office.

The market was severely shaken by the P1.7 trillion share price collapse. Furthermore, it would be a mistake, imo, to think that this is a one-day panic. When nearly $30 billion in funds vanish because of corruption fears, it is obvious that investors will no longer have the "benefit of the doubt" mentality. No matter how much infrastructure is built or promoted, if there is no trust, there is no way to develop in the long term. Once foreign investors see the system as unreliable or fake, they will not think twice and will quickly leave. Then the local market will also be affected and the distrust that will be created may take years to recover. If the Philippines cannot clean up its governance, I think this collapse could gradually turn into an economic hemorrhage.

I still have my hope that somebody is going to be in jail. But it won't be satisfying if it's the big fish because who they are pushing for, were out of the country(Co) and have been missing in action (Romualdez). It's known to the international community on how corrupt the government was. It's no longer proud for any of us to talk about that we're in this country. Compared to the past administration, international community once looked upon to the country for having a good administration. Whether people like the past or not, that's the reality.

As far as I understand, the Philippines is experiencing a full-blown financial crisis, fueled by allegations of corruption and a weak currency. When considering whether this represents an opportunity, I believe that in countries with such corruption, opportunity is truly one of the last things to consider. It's very difficult for the government to gain the trust of investors, and even if a new government comes along, it will be difficult. We don't see government changes easily in such countries. These are the long-term harms of corruption.

It's a domino effect brought about by the exposé on corruption. As an investor, you cannot trust your money in a highly corrupt environment; you will have to pull it out before it vanishes. The government should do something drastically, and they should do it immediately, based on many reports they are penalizing, charging, and firing almost everyone in corrupt departments, but investors want to see sentences meted out and, this is going to be a long shot and one bad thing is election is coming in two years and the present regime might lose focus on prosecuting these criminals.

This is bad. What the government worked for decades is gone because of these ghost projects. The government should work double time to restore the confidence of investors, not just their own confidence. I read that many international lending institutions and countries are having second thoughts about giving the country a good trust rating. This will hit hard on the many sectors of society. I've been saying many times that the Philippines is not really a poor country; it is a country that has been heavily plundered. Imagine discovering that one lawmaker, involved in this corrupt practice, owns more helicopters than the government. The people are demanding a tax break because they don’t trust the government anymore to spend their money for their welfare.

But the SEC Chairperson said it was fake news? Or was he wrong, did it really happen? I’m starting to think this could just be another way to cover up what’s actually going on, maybe to avoid panic. Honestly, I don’t even know what to believe anymore. The crisis just seems to keep going, especially now with that 7.6 magnitude earthquake that hit Mindanao. Tsunami threat as magnitude 7.6 earthquake strikes off southern Philippines

Last time i've heard in Southeast Asia where Philippines is there's a trend of Gen Z going against corrupt politician and the latest is nepal. I wonder if Philippines also doing the same thing although last time I've heard news from there , it seems there's a concern after massive flood. Corruption is truly the thing that cripple a nation, entire wealth of the country going to some thieves pocket.

Well, upon researching this, it could be fake news with the amount, but nonetheless, the problem is still there. The corruption that weak-minded and weak-willed people do to gain money is still there. Definitely, there's a percentage of investors who have reactions to this kind of news, and it's not a small matter. What I'm waiting for is the trend in the strength of the Philippine markets, specifically in terms of key indicators.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairperson Francis Lim made that statement, but he immediately corrected it and apologised for giving false information to the media without checking the facts. It's good that he corrected it because it will have a deep impact in the economy. He should next time check the information before announcing anything, given that he holds a high position in the government. Read more: https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/economy/961874/sec-chair-lim-apologizes-says-p1-7-trillion-stock-market-wipeout-report-fictitious/story/

Gen Z here mostly keyboard warriors, not like what I heard from Nepal .. lots of noise online but not many willing to take real risks. The Philippines is big but still developing, so fixing things needs more than just tweets and threads. It needs broad civic pressure, institutions doing their job, and yes, even people inside the system to speak up, though I really hope it never comes to soldiers or rebels joining in. Let’s pray it doesn’t get that far, too many lives would be lost. Better if the president steps down peacefully, or if change happens through normal channels , messy, sure, but safer for everyone.