Tens of thousands of Filipinos flooded the streets of Manila on Sunday in one of the country’s largest anti-graft demonstrations in years, protesting a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal tied to flood-control projects. The unrest comes as part of a broader wave of protests sweeping across South and Southeast Asia, from Nepal to Bangladesh, where anger over corruption, economic hardship and authoritarianism has boiled over into the streets, forcing change of government. In Manila, the protests turned violent as police deployed water cannons against crowds and arrested at least 17 demonstrators accused of hurling rocks and setting tyres ablaze at a barricade. An independent commission is investigating, but revelations that construction tycoons Sarah and Pacifico Discaya, who secured major contracts, own dozens of luxury cars abroad have further fuelled public anger. “I feel bad that we wallow in poverty while they rake in fortunes from our taxes to buy luxury cars and fund foreign trips,” student activist Althea Trinidad told the Associated Press.