Pinoys see less worsening graft

Fewer Filipinos believe corruption got worse in the past year despite a far-reaching scandal that has implicated several current and former lawmakers but detained none of them, according to a new poll released Friday, January 9.

- 

Fewer Filipinos believe corruption got worse in the past year despite a far-reaching scandal that has implicated several current and former lawmakers but detained none of them, according to a new poll released Friday, January 9.

Three in four adults (74%) said corruption increased in the last 12 months before the poll, down from 85% who said the same in September, according to a Pulse Asia survey conducted from December 12 to 15.

The 11-percentage-point drop came as the Independent Commission for Inquiry churned out multiple reports recommending the filing of charges against present and former lawmakers and Department of Public Works and Highways executives, and the government freezes assets linked to ghost infrastructure projects.

The Sandiganbayan earlier declared former congressman Elizaldy Co — who led the powerful House appropriations panel prior to his resignation in January 2025 — a fugitive on December 10. Meanwhile, former Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin resigned on November 17 after Co accused him of relaying President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s alleged requests for P100 billion in budget insertions.

The decline in the perceived worsening of corruption suggests that either the public has grown desensitized to successive revelations of graft, or that the government’s prosecutions — seven detentions so far of contractors and DPWH officials — are beginning to register as concrete action to the public.