For a country whose democratic system is meant to elect leaders on the promise of good governance, the Philippines ceaselessly finds itself drowning in the familiar tide of corruption that each administration swears to end.
This year, countless government officials and contractors have been exposed for pocketing public funds. The political scandals publicized every few months are no longer new instances, but rather issues that continue to reveal the cracks in an already rotting system, amplifying the absence of accountability to punish those who abuse their power.
ITransparency National’s 2025 corruption perception index ranks the country 114th out of the 180 countries scored, reflecting how corruption has become an inevitable part of the state’s leadership.
This phenomenon has become more obvious, especially as the country deals with the widespread controversy over “ghost” flood control projects. However, its continued prevalence, despite continued calls for justice and accountability, makes Filipinos wonder if corruption has not just infiltrated the government but superseded it.
A legacy of stolen wealth
Corruption, in its many forms, has long shaped the country’s political landscape more than any policy ever has.
Long before today’s headlines, the Philippines endured a dictatorship marked by billions of ill-gotten wealth enjoyed by a sole family during the country’s so-called “golden age.” Political repression and human rights violations were rampant, with thousands of lives lost due to state-sanctioned violence and disappearances.
Families were left to navigate poverty and economic instability as public funds were hoarded by the Marcoses before they left the country in 1986. This theft alone was considered the “Greatest Robbery of a Government” by the Guinness World Records, exemplifying the unprecedented greed, impunity, and blatant abuse of power that defined the first Marcos regime.
Meanwhile, in 2013, the pork barrel scam, where Janet Lim Napoles and her accomplices pocketed P10-billion worth of Priority Development Assistance Funds from lawmakers, involved politicians who claimed that public projects were being carried out—even though there weren’t any—in exchange for rewards or “kickbacks.”
The case demonstrates the weaknesses in the system as similar schemes continue to arise, showing that structural reforms have yet to address the root causes of corruption in the country.
A legacy that continues today
In recent years, corruption has disguised itself in the form of undisclosed national budget allocations, such as in the case of Vice President Sara Duterte’s confidential funds and the flood control controversies.
The alleged misuse of confidential funds by Sara Duterte was first discovered in July 2023, when P125 million was spent in just 11 days by her office. Duterte also requested a whopping P650 million when she previously served as the Department of Education Secretary, but it was later declined by the House of Representatives due to the criticism she received for her spending.
What made the situation more alarming was that the confidential funds’ recipients were composed of nonexistent individuals with food-themed aliases like “Mary Grace Piattos” and “Kokoy Villamin.” The fact that it was done in a blatantly obvious manner showed how weak our mechanisms against corruption were and how normalized it had become.
Amid the finger-pointing and scrutiny, Duterte and those reportedly involved have yet to face any legal repercussions, despite all the evidence and public outcry. After this anomaly, new issues began to unfold, extending to the recent flood control scandals gripping the nation.
In his 2025 State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered an investigation into flood control projects that were “started or completed within the last three years.” This prompted a series of investigations, which led to the inspection of substandard works in various provinces, especially the “ghost” project hotbed of Bulacan, where prominent contractors like St. Timothy Construction Corporation, owned by a couple, Sarah and Curlee Discaya, had numerous government contracts.
The staggering number of typhoons that ravaged the Philippines further exposed the issue of the low-grade flood control projects. Widespread flooding and a death toll of 150 hit Cebu during Typhoon Tino, in which the substandard and unfinished projects in the region were quickly identified as contributing factors. The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has since started an investigation together with inspections by the Department of Public Works and Highways to thoroughly identify the deficiencies.
These investigations have already named Sens. Jinggoy Estrada, Chiz Escudero, Joel Villanueva, and Makati City Mayor Nancy Binay, Education Secretary Sonny Angara, and former Sens. Bong Revilla and Grace Poe, and several congressmen, all of whom have denied the accusations, despite investigation findings in the Senate’s Blue Ribbon Committee and ICI hearings. There is also the matter of the private contractors who partnered with corrupt officials to partake in this robbery of public funds.
Despite the walkouts and marches organized by everyday Filipinos for transparency, not one official has been held accountable. Instead, these initiatives have only been answered with public servants denying involvement and passing the blame among the Marcos- and Duterte-aligned camps.
When corruption becomes so ingrained in public service that even legal systems fail to bring prosecutions and meaningful change, Filipinos are left to ask: what avenues remain to achieve a government where structural reforms are upheld, transparency is non-negotiable, and public trust is genuinely valued? These aspirations should never have been difficult to attain. They should be the baseline for anyone seeking public office—not exceptional, not aspirational, but the standard of political leadership.
