Views of corruption in Philippines worsen as ‘grease money’ dents confidence

South China Morning Post · Feb 21, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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The Philippines has fallen in a global corruption perception ranking, as allegations of financial wrongdoings and court cases surrounding a multibillion-peso flood-control programme have deepened doubts about its governance and dented investor confidence.Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International said the Philippines ranked 120th out of 182 countries and territories in its 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index, down six places from the previous year.The country received a score of 32 on a scale of zero as “highly corrupt” to 100 being “very clean”, one point less than its score in 2024 and the lowest it has received since 2012.The index released on February 10 aggregates expert and business assessments of perceived public-sector corruption, including risks of bribery, diversion of public funds, abuse of office, the strength of accountability and whistle-blower protections. It draws on data collected over several years up to late 2025.The ranking comes against the backdrop of an ongoing controversy in the Philippines over alleged irregularities in government-funded flood-control projects that first surfaced in July last year. Investigations and fraud audits have uncovered billions of pesos lost to purportedly substandard or “ghost” flood-control works, with multiple anti-corruption protests held across the country following the revelations.On Wednesday, the government said the country’s worsening performance in the index was expected due to President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr’s highlighting the tainted projects, which led to the investigations and corruption charges filed against high-profile individuals.