“Nepo Babies” Afloat: Privilege Above the Floodline

While families wade through waist-deep water and classrooms rot from flood damage, influencer Claudine Co parades her private jet trips and designer hauls worth millions of pesos per outfit. Co isn’t just any content creator—her father, Christopher Co, is behind Hi-Tone Construction, Bicol Region’s second-largest contractor. The company bagged over 50 flood control projects, accumulating over ₱4 billion, including dozens in Camarines Sur and Albay—areas that, despite the massive expenditure on flood control, still experience heavy flooding. That’s why Co’s ostentatious displays of luxury ignited outrage. More than a case of influencer excess, it’s a reminder of how “nepo babies”—people who gain opportunities due to family connections—can flaunt lifestyles bankrolled by systems that fail ordinary Filipinos. Influencers like Co don’t just mirror social inequalities in the face of crisis; they embody a culture that normalizes corruption while perpetuating the belief that privilege places them above accountability. 

Public anger is now more visible than ever—the backlash against influencers like Co shows that Filipinos are far from indifferent. Regardless of politics or religion, people recognize the insult of flaunted privilege amid public suffering, and rightfully so, this outrage shouldn’t end with memes or trendy hashtags. Public personalities propelled by legacy are capable of changing the status quo; instead, they use it to parade extravagance (as if it were rightfully earned) while disregarding their fellow Filipinos who face submerged houses and potential displacement. Platforms like Co’s don’t just reflect personal excess—they model and normalize it to audiences, especially the impressionable youth, with the message that extravagance should be coveted while social responsibility is optional. One glaring case is Vern Enciso posting her luxury items on Instagram while rescue pleas trended alongside it. Ironically, many influencers with the largest platforms care least for the countrymen whose taxes fund their lifestyles. Their content transforms inequality into entertainment, and when hit with backlash, they simply delete their accounts in hopes that today’s hate thread fades into tomorrow’s forgotten post. 

While the public outrage over influencer culture is valid, it can pull us away from the deeper-rooted problem at hand: the theft occurring within our own government. However much these influencers are abusing our money, they are not the culprits who enabled this to happen. Rather than wasting our energy on a fleeting anger towards these “nepo babies”—who, while undoubtedly guilty (see Section 4(h) of Republic Act No. 6713), are not the sources of the issue—attention should be directed to the contractors who have unfairly secured and stolen flood control funds, as well as the government officials who allowed it to happen and even profited from the malpractice. By focusing solely on the online drama, Filipinos risk sidelining the corruption issues that are the root of our country’s problems.

However, that doesn’t mean that all wealthy influencers receive their wealth from ill-begotten means. Jumping too quickly to assumptions in the heat of the moment jeopardizes other influencers who are mistakenly associated with corruption. This is clearly seen in the situation of Camille Co, an online influencer whose last name led netizens to link her to Claudine Co’s family. The former revealed that, despite having worked hard to build her career for years, her livelihood, being tied to her name and reputation, was affected by the accusations of ties to Claudine Co. Not every successful influencer is part of the problem, and unfounded allegations only serve to further encourage the spread of misinformation in an already hate-filled world.

The attention directed to the extravagant lives of these “nepo babies” was not undeserved, but as quickly as people called it out, they should be just as quick to address the government’s corruption. The cost of unchecked theft is not just fancy dinner bills or millions of pesos’ worth of designer bags, but, more importantly, the stolen futures of the Filipinos these funds rightfully belong to. As students with easy access to social media platforms, it’s necessary to look at the bigger picture even while criticizing the lavish lifestyles of the “nepo babies.” Public response shouldn’t stop at calling out undeserved privilege—it should be channeled into exposing the abuse of power. After all, it’s not enough to let a trickle of accountability get through; only when the floodgates are thrown wide open can the long-accumulated dam of impunity and deceit be torn down and the change that people so seek happen.