At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when economies worldwide had ground to a halt and most governments were cutting spending, Manila City Mayor Francisco “Isko” Moreno Domagoso made a counterintuitive decision. The maverick mayor borrowed money and built—simultaneously funding vertical housing projects, fully air-conditioned 10-story public schools, and a 10-story hospital—using what he calls financial engineering rooted in a Supreme Court…
