Following up...I eventually pushed and got rebooked on EY from DOH-AUH-MNL and arrived 9 hours later than I would have on my initial itinerary. I actually landed about 3 minutes ahead of QR932 (the full one I couldn't get on).
I made an EC261 claim for the disruption and got this back:
We understand the inconvenience that you encountered and can fully appreciate how unsettling this situation must have been. Although every effort is made to achieve on time departures/arrivals, there are occasions when flights are delayed due to circumstances beyond our control as it unfortunately happened with QR020, which was delayed due to operational reasons.
Whilst we seek your kind understanding that disruptions of this nature can be totally unforeseen and beyond our control, we would like to reassure you that every effort is made to ensure the prompt operation of all our flights and to minimize any potential disruption which may be caused to our valued customers' travel plans.
Our reservations team has anticipated missing your onwards connection due to the minimum connecting time required between Qatar Airways flights in Doha, where you need sufficient time for your transfer as well as the transfer of your checked baggage into your onward flight. In determining the minimum connecting time between transit flights in Hamad International Airport, various factors are taken into consideration, such as aircraft parking bay assignment, air traffic clearance, aircraft ramp equipment positioning, as well as other airport ground operational procedures.
As a result of this, our reservations staff had re-booked your onward connection to travel on the next departing to your final destinations, to protect your transfer as well as the baggage transfer.
On behalf of Qatar Airways, please accept our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience which may have been caused and regret not meeting your desired expectations. While it is always our goal to provide a positive, memorable experience for our customers we must stress that there was nothing we could do to avoid the disruption.
Regrettably, however, we are unable to offer compensation on this occasion.
I emailed them back with a link to the part of EC261 that covers this and got a virtually identical note back, but with this at the top:
We regret to note your disappointment about the outcome of your complaint. We conducted a thorough investigation of this case and have communicated to you the pertinent information.
Is there any recourse from here bar escalating to the local authority?