By Alex Maestre

On 20 November 2025, the Embassy of the Republic of Korea (ROK) in Manila and the UP Asian Center co-hosted the “Republic of Korea–ASEAN Connectivity Forum: Advancing Regional Cooperation under the Philippines’ 2026 ASEAN Chairmanship” at Ascott Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. One of the many interactions between the Philippines and ROK since 1949 (bilateral relations). This event marks the soon-to-be handover of the ASEAN chairmanship to the Philippines for 2026 on 28 October 2025, which will commence in January 2026.

The connectivity plan was to help improve in several key areas such as financial resourcing, foreign investment, urban expansion, and innovative solutions for the Philippines that could also be beneficial for South Korea. Philippines holds at least 22% or $112 million dollars of the finalized bilateral ODA budget of 2025 (out of 665$ million dollars partitioned for each SEA country) amongst its SEA neighbors just behind Cambodia ($226 million) and Vietnam ($127 million).

At the same time, the forum took place against a backdrop of serious governance, economic, and security problems in the Philippines that directly affect Korean development cooperation and investment.

In 1987, Korea created the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) which later on opened its offices in the Philippines in the 1990s, the sole purpose as mentioned earlier, was to grant funds for small to medium sized projects in the Philippines development as a nation. However, despite all this there are still many underlying issues that have made the ROK hesitant towards its promises to invest in the Philippines.

While the 2018–2022 period saw the completion of smaller agricultural and infrastructure victories (e.g., Samar Pacific Coastal Road, Quirino Integrated Rural Development), the 2023–2025 period is characterized by project paralysis.

• The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) Fiasco: A highly publicized revitalization plan estimated at $1 billion has stalled. Korean experts were scheduled to begin a feasibility study in January 2025. As of November 2025, the project is 11 months behind schedule with no physical progress, despite confirmation of its viability in 2008 and 2017.

• General Infrastructure: Multiple EDCF-backed initiatives are currently stuck in renegotiation phases, failing to move past the planning table.

Another major agreement that was suspended in September 2025 by South Korean President Lee Jae-myung of about ₱28.7 billion in infrastructure loan to the Philippines due to corruption concerns despite government officials such as Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella denying that there was ever any real agreement.

Foreign investment has dropped by at least 38% 2024 to P543 billion, the lowest it has ever seen in four years. The country’s economy has only merely expanded by 5%, which has been the slowest in six quarters, falling short of the government’s expected 5.5 or 6% target. Experts still say that this will continue into 2026.

Since 2023-2025 the socio-political climate of the Philippines has faced many scandals, one of the most well-known being the infamous “Flood Control Projects”, which are said to have started all the way back in July 2022 up until 2025 during the first three years of the Marcos administration:

• Internal audits and Senate/House inquiries revealed that out of ₱545 billion ( $9.6 billion) allocated for flood-control projects since 2022, many were substandard, undocumented, or entirely fictitious, with only a small group of contractors cornering a large share of funds.

• The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has confirmed at least 421 flood control projects out of roughly 8,000 inspected works. 

• Arrest warrants have been issued for former Representative Zaldy Co and 17 others, including certain senior DPWH officials in connection with anomalous flood-control contracts.The ICI also investigated Former Speaker Martin Romualdez for suspected participation, but no guilty verdict was found.

Not only does the Philippines face money scandals within its own government that has caused investors to remain hesitant but the rise of crime and kidnappings of foreigners as well. Korean officials are growing alarmed over crime targeting their nationals and other foreigners in the Philippines, with the South Korean Embassy of the Philippines logging more than 200 cases this year alone, including homicides, kidnappings, and armed robberies. Serious incidents are now happening even in places once seen as “safe,” like Bonifacio Global City (BGC), where motorcycle-riding gangs have held up Koreans for cash and luxury bags. Police say many foreign victims are reluctant to file complaints and just claim insurance instead, which makes it harder to lock up repeat offenders. 

Even with more patrols, tourist police, and language-trained officers on the streets, the mix of high-profile crimes and visible diplomatic concern is making investors see the country as a riskier place to live and do business.

We are living through what I can only call one of the most alarming periods in the 2020s. Crimes against foreign nationals keep making headlines, billion-peso projects are announced then quietly stall, and investors are growing more cautious by the day. I refuse to accept that this should be our reality for the next five years. While our Southeast Asian neighbors move ahead with smart cities, real reforms, and disciplined governance, we are still tripping over the same internal problems. Before we talk about doing more business with the world, we need the courage to clean our own house first.

   

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