Corruption in the Philippines

Political corruption
Forms and concepts
Anti-corruption
Corruption by country
Africa
Asia
Europe
North America
Central America
South America
Oceania

Corruption in the Philippines is a widespread problem its citizens endure,[1] which developed during the Spanish colonial period.[2][3] According to GAN Integrity's Philippines Corruption Report updated May 2020, the Philippines suffers from many incidents of corruption and crime in many aspects of civic life and in various sectors. Such corruption risks are rampant throughout the state's judicial system, police service, public services, land administration, and natural resources. The 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index scored the Philippines at 33 out of 100 points. When ranked by score, the Philippines ranked 114th among the 180 countries in the 2024 Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. The Philippines's score was significantly worse than the regional average of 44 and the worldwide average score of 43.

Examples of corruption in the Philippines include graft, bribery, cronyism, nepotism, impunity, embezzlement, extortion, racketeering, fraud, tax evasion, vote buying, lack of transparency, lack of sufficient enforcement of laws and government policies, and consistent lack of support for human rights.[4]

Researchers have proposed that corruption and poor governance as among the causes of poverty in the Philippines.[5]

The Philippines signed the United Nations Convention against Corruption on December 9, 2003, with the Senate ratifying the convention on November 6, 2006. In 2012, the Senate declared that National Anticorruption Day shall be celebrated yearly on December 9.[6]

Perceived decline and resurgence

Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index scores a list of countries on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"), then ranks them by score. The country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector.[7] In 2012, President Benigno Aquino concluded that, according to Transparency International, the factors driving the progress in the Philippines' Corruption Perception Index scores at that time were improved government service and reduced red tape.[8] Between 2012 and 2014, the Philippines's score rose from 34 to its highest-ever score of 38.[9]

A November 2020 Transparency International survey of nearly 20,000 citizens from 17 countries, surveyed mostly between June and September 2020, showed that Filipinos have more confidence in their government's tackling of corruption than their Asian neighbors, although they also believe corruption in government remains a big problem. Of Philippine respondents 64% thought that corruption had decreased in the last 12 months, while 24% believed that it had increased. This was better than the average across Asia, where only 32% believed that corruption had decreased and 38% said that it had increased.[10]

In contrast, Transparency International reported the Philippines as a "significant decliner" in the score for the region in 2021 and 2022; the country dropped to a score of 33 in those years from its 2014 high of 38.[11][12] The 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index scored the Philippines at 33. When ranked by score, the Philippines ranked 114th among the 180 countries in the 2024 Index. For comparison with regional scores, the best score among Asia Pacific countries[Note 1] was 84, the average score was 44, and the worst score was 16.[13] For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the worst score was 11 (ranked 180), and the average score was 43.[14]

Plunder, graft, and malversation

See also: Coco Levy Fund scam, Fertilizer Fund scam, Trial of Joseph Estrada, and NBN–ZTE deal corruption scandal

Under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos, the total amount of the fortune that the Marcos family stole is estimated at $10 billion.[15] The Supreme Court of the Philippines has issued three separate rulings ordering the Marcoses to return the wealth stolen from the country.[16]

The Anti-Plunder Law (Republic Act 7080) was signed into law after the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos was toppled in the 1986 People Power Revolution. The law was filed in the Senate by Senator Jovito Salonga and in the House of Representatives by Representative Lorna Verano-Yap. The measure was signed into law by President Corazon Aquino in 1991. Salonga said that previous laws against corruption "were clearly inadequate to cope with the magnitude of the corruption and thievery committed during the Marcos years".[17]

In 1997, the first plunder case was filed against tax official Dominga Manalili. She and two others were convicted of plunder in 2001 by the Quezon City Regional Trial Court for diverting ₱260 million of tax payments to unauthorized bank accounts.[17]

In 2001, President Joseph Estrada and incumbent San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada became the first elected officials to be charged with plunder. Joseph Estrada was accused of pocketing ₱4 billion in jueteng bribes and tobacco excise taxes. He was convicted of plunder by the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court in 2007 and later pardoned by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.[17]

In 2012, the Philippine Office of the Ombudsman filed a ₱366-million plunder case against Arroyo over the alleged misuse of intelligence funds assigned to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. In 2013, Arroyo and Janet Lim Napoles were charged with plunder over the Malampaya fund scam.[17]

In 2014, incumbent senators Bong Revilla, Jinggoy Estrada, and Juan Ponce Enrile along with Janet Lim–Napoles were charged with plunder before the Sandiganbayan for allegedly pocketing kickbacks in the pork barrel scam.[18]

As of 2016, there have been 33,772 cases of corruption filed before the Sandiganbayan. Of these, 10,094 are malversation cases and 7,968 are graft cases.[19]

In 2025, Vice President Sara Duterte was impeached by the House of Representatives over multiple charges, including allegations of malversation of ₱612.5 million in confidential funds, bribery, and unexplained wealth.[20]

Stolen wealth of the Marcos family

This section is an excerpt from Unexplained wealth of the Marcos family.[edit]
A 2005 image of 40 Wall Street, one of four Manhattan buildings purchased by the Marcoses in the early 1980s.

The Marcos family, a political family in the Philippines, owns different assets that Philippine courts have determined to have been acquired through illicit means during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos from 1965–1986.[21][22] These assets are referred to using several terms, including "ill-gotten wealth"[23] and "unexplained wealth,"[24] while some authors such as Belinda Aquino and Philippine Senator Jovito Salonga more bluntly refer to it as the "Marcos Plunder".[24][25]

Legally, the Philippine Supreme Court defines this as the assets the Marcoses acquired beyond the amount legally declared by Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos in the president's statements of assets and liabilities[23]—which amounts to only about US$13,500.00 from his salary as president. The court also deems that such wealth should be forfeited and turned over to the government or to the human rights victims of Marcos's authoritarian regime.[26] Estimates of the amount the Marcoses reportedly acquired in the last few years of the Marcos administration range from US$5 billion to $13 billion.[27]: 634–635 [28]: 27  No exact figures can be determined for the amount acquired through the entire 21 years of the Marcos regime, but prominent Marcos-era economist Jesus Estanislao has suggested that the amount could be as high as US$30 billion.[29]: 175 

Among the sources of the Marcos wealth are alleged to be: diverted foreign economic aid (e.g. Marcos Japanese ODA scandal), US Government military aid (including huge discretionary funds at Marcos disposal as a "reward" for sending some Filipino troops to Vietnam) and kickbacks from public works contracts over a two-decades-long rule.[30]

This wealth includes: real estate assets both within the Philippines and in several other countries, notably the United States; collections of jewelry and artwork; shares and other financial instruments; bank accounts, both in the Philippines and overseas, notably Switzerland, the United States, Singapore, and the British Virgin Islands;[31][32] and in some instances, actual cash assets.[33]

Some of this wealth has been recovered as the result of various court cases, either as funds or properties returned to the Philippine government, or by being awarded as reparations to the victims of human rights abuses under Marcos's presidency.[34][35] Philippine Supreme Court, Sandiganbayan, and courts abroad have issued convictions or rulings that confirm the plunder of Ferdinand Marcos and Imelda Marcos, Marcos family members, and cronies.[36][37] Some of the stolen wealth has been recovered by the Philippine government through settlements and compromise deals, either with the Marcoses themselves or with cronies who said that certain properties had been entrusted to them by the Marcoses.[33] Some of the recovery cases have been dismissed by the courts for reasons including improper case filing procedures and technical issues with documentary evidence.[38] An unknown amount[28] is not recoverable because the full extent of the Marcos wealth is unknown.[21]

Corruption in the police service and armed forces

See also: Euro Generals scandal and Ninja cops of the Philippine drug war

The police and the military in the Philippines pose a high risk of corruption, with the Philippines National Police (PNP) considered to be one of the most corrupt institutions in the country. There are several reports of national police officers and members of the military engaging in criminal activities such as extortion, corruption and involvement in local rackets. Private businesses also report that they cannot solely rely on the support of the police and half of them choose to pay for private security. [4]

According to CNN Philippines, Police Commissioner Sombero was under investigation in a corruption case for allegedly facilitating a ₱50 million bribe from gambling tycoon Jack Lam, who tried to bribe immigration authorities to release approximately 1,300 Chinese nationals who were working in his resorts illegally.[39]

Pabaon scandal

This section is an excerpt from 2011 Armed Forces of the Philippines corruption scandal.[edit]

The 2011 Armed Forces of the Philippines corruption scandal, also known as the "pabaon scandal", was a political scandal involving the alleged misuse of military funds by high-ranking members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The pabaon system referred to a practice of giving millions of pesos to chiefs of staff when they retire.[40]

An estimated PHP1.5 billion in AFP funds for operations and salaries were allegedly placed anomalously in an unaudited pool of discretionary resources.[41][42] Under the system, AFP general Carlos Garcia was alleged to have plundered PHP303 million as head of the comptroller's office while former AFP chief of staff Angelo Reyes was alleged to have received PHP50 million as send-off money.[43][44]

The scandal led to the recommendation of filing of plunder charges against six retired generals and five other officers in January 2012.[41] The Philippine Department of Justice named the following in its recommendation to the Office of the Ombudsman: AFP chiefs Roy Cimatu and Diomedio Villanueva; retired military comptrollers Garcia and Jacinto Ligot; retired major general Hilario Atendido; former brigadier general Benito de Leon; retired lieutenant colonel Ernesto Paranis; active-duty officers Cirilo Tomas Donato and Roy Devesa; former civilian auditor of Divina Cabrera; and former accountant Generoso del Castillo.[41][45]

Corruption in the judicial system

Corruption in the Philippine judicial system is also a major problem. Bribery and irregular payments in return for favorable judicial decisions are quite common. Although judicial officials are independent by law, rich and powerful groups and individuals wield control and influence over the judicial system and influence the outcomes of civil and criminal proceedings. Financial investment dispute often take an unnecessarily long time due to staffing shortages, lack of resources, and corruption in the court system. The low salaries of judicial officials help exacerbate the problem of bribery in exchange for favors. The judiciary is also criticized for making non-transparent and biased judicial decisions.[4]

₱6 million bribery case

In 2024, the Supreme Court ordered the 90-day preventive suspension of Pasay City judge Albert Cansino and a court employee for allegedly accepting a bribe for a favorable ruling in a civil case. Both were entrapped in bribery with the use of five ₱1,000 marked bills and ₱6 million boodle money.[46][47]

Political nepotism and cronyism

Further information: List of political families in the Philippines and Cronies of Ferdinand Marcos

The Philippine political arena is mainly arranged and operated by families or alliances of families, rather than organized around the voting for political parties.[48] Called the padrino system, one gain favor, promotion, or political appointment through family affiliation (nepotism) or friendship (cronyism), as opposed to one's merit. The padrino system has been the source of many controversies and corruption in the Philippines.

According to the Civil Service Commission (CSC), nepotism is a form of corruption or abuse of authority that violates Article IX (B), Section 2 (2) of the Constitution which states that "Appointments in the civil service shall be made only according to merit and fitness to be determined, as far as practicable, and, except to positions which are policy-determining, primarily confidential, or highly technical, by competitive examination." Nepotism favors a few individuals and compromises fairness in the hiring and promotion process in government.[49]

Notes

  1. ^ Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, North Korea, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, and Vietnam

See also

General

References

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Further reading

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