MANILA – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr was standing onstage, microphone in hand, singing a love song to his wife.

The scene was from an Aug 26 birthday celebration for First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos at their home in Makati City, beside the capital Manila. But by the time videos of it spread online days later, persistent monsoon rains had inundated communities across the main island of Luzon, leaving dozens dead and millions affected.

The contrast quickly drew anger online.

“That’s my president. He doesn’t care about the plight of the poor as long as (he) can party the night away,” commented Facebook user Joshua Javier Guitang in a repost of the video by local news agency NewsWatchPlus.

The backlash reflects how a widening corruption scandal over billions of pesos in flood control spending has sharpened public scrutiny of the country’s political elite, with displays of comfort and wealth increasingly seen not merely as poor optics, but as symbols of a deeper failure of governance.

Days later, in flood-hit Pampanga province north of Manila, Governor Lilia Pineda, Vice-Governor Dennis Pineda and San Fernando Mayor Vilma Caluag were photographed inspecting affected communities while wearing clothes and rain gear from luxury brands like Prada, Balmain and Burberry.

The politicians’ outfits, including jackets costing tens of thousands of pesos, became ta...