1 month ago
27
Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!
Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.
Visit Suniway.ph to learn
Janvic Mateo - The Philippine Star
February 12, 2026 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Mirroring trends observed in other parts of the world, perceived levels of public sector corruption in the Philippines worsened in 2025, coinciding with the widespread scandal surrounding flood control projects.
The Philippines ranked 120th among the 182 countries and territories included in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released by Berlin-based Transparency International (TI) on Tuesday, down six notches from the 2024 edition of the annual report.
The CPI ranks countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, with a score of zero being “highly corrupt” to 100 being “very clean.”
The Philippines obtained a score of 32, one point lower than in the 2024 index. It was the country’s lowest since TI adopted this version of the scoring system in 2012. The Philippines’ score was only higher than Cambodia’s and Myanmar’s’ among its Southeast Asian neighbors.
A major scandal erupted in the country over allegations of multibillion-peso corruption involving government infrastructure projects. Several cases have been filed, with more expected to be resolved in the coming months.
Reacting to the 2025 CPI, Malacañang said the Philippines’ lower score was expected because of President Marcos’ exposé of anomalies in flood control projects.
According to TI, the global average for 2025 went down for the first time in over a decade to just 42 out of 100.
“The vast majority of countries are failing to keep corruption under control: 122 out of 182 score under 50 in the index,” the report read.
“At the same time, the number of countries scoring above 80 has shrunk from 12 a decade ago to just five this year,” it added.
Denmark remained on top of the list with a score of 89, followed by Finland (88), Singapore (84), New Zealand (81), Norway (81), Sweden (80), Switzerland (80), Luxembourg (78), Netherlands (78), Germany (77) and Iceland (77).
TI expressed concern over what it described as a “worrying trend of democracies seeing worsening perceived corruption,” including in the Unites States, Canada, United Kingdom and France.
Even countries in the top 10, such as Denmark, New Zealand, Switzerland and Luxembourg, saw declines in their scores.
Meanwhile, still at the bottom were South Sudan and Somalia, both with a score of nine, followed by Venezuela (10), Yemen (13), Libya (13), Eritrea (13), Sudan (14), Nicaragua (14), Syria (15), North Korea (15) and Equatorial Guinea (15).
“Corruption is not inevitable. Our research and experience as a global movement fighting corruption show there is a clear blueprint for how to hold power to account for the common good, from democratic processes and independent oversight to a free and open civil society,” said TI chairman François Valérian.
“At a time when we’re seeing a dangerous disregard for international norms from some states, we’re calling on governments and leaders to act with integrity and live up to their responsibilities to provide a better future for people around the world,” he added.
‘Dirt’ of the past
At Malacañang, Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said perceptions of corruption in the country may have worsened due to Marcos’ “cleaning up the dirt” of the past and exposing anomalies.
Asked to specify which past administration she was referring to, Castro said, “all of them.”
She also disputed claims that the administration has lost its interest in sending to jail those found involved in the flood control scandal.
“The President never loses interest in holding accountable whoever should be held accountable,” she said in Filipino.
Marcos earlier directed agencies to move forward and focus on economic recovery following the junking of impeachment cases against him by the House of Representatives.
“The President said he will focus on the economy for the sake of our countrymen who are unmindful of politics,” Castro said.
DPWH launches blockchain vs graft
Meanwhile, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has launched a project involving the use of blockchain technology to enhance transparency.
The DPWH activated Integrity Chain last Tuesday, saying it would pave the way for traceable, auditable and accessible records with accredited validators of the Blockchain Council of the Philippines.
“This is a major step in ensuring that what we’ve seen in the past doesn’t happen again. And this is what the President keeps on repeating. Not only do we need to hold people to account, not only do we need to get the people’s money back, but even more important is we make sure that this does not happen again,” DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon said during the launch. — Helen Flores, Rainier Allan Ronda
