MANILA, Nov. 20 -- The Canadian and European Union (EU) governments do not expect the massive flood control corruption scandal to derail ongoing discussions for potential free trade agreements (FTA) with the Philippines, their ambassadors in Manila said Thursday.

On the sidelines of the Stratbase ADR Institute 2025 Pilipinas Conference in Makati City, EU Ambassador Massimo Santoro and Canadian Ambassador David Hartman both acknowledged the Philippine government's ongoing efforts to address the issue.

Santoro said the controversy "never became a concern" for the EU as it sees the government is taking concrete action to address the issue.

"It was President (Ferdinand R.) Marcos Jr. himself who identified the issue during his State of the...