Tracing the money, exposing the network: A year of Rappler investigations

1 week ago 6

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A year of Rappler investigations

Thanks to tips and leads from the community, Rappler was able to look into five names linked to the flood control corruption scandal across eight full-blown investigations

MANILA, Philippines – On July 23, photos of a cardboard cutout of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. standing behind a podium went viral on Filipinos’ social media feeds. The President’s standee was partly submerged in knee-deep flood along a residential street. Beside it, Greenpeace activists held a huge banner that said, “This is the state of the nation.”

It was a few days before the President was to deliver his fourth State of the Nation Address. The country was reeling from the aftermath of Tropical Storm Crising (Wipha) and the southwest monsoon. Filipinos were reminded of the President’s one-year-old SONA promise of addressing the country’s persisting flood problem.

Inevitably, the President was forced to put emphasis on the issue on SONA day. Two weeks later, Marcos released a list of 15 contractors that had secured a substantial portion of government-implemented flood control projects, triggering one of the largest news coverages in the country — even bigger than the 2025 election coverage.

Most of Rappler’s 12 investigative stories in 2025 looked into the flood control corruption scandal.

Over the past several months, we were able to look into 41 names linked to the scandal as of posting time (thanks to the community’s tips and leads). We were able to do full-blown investigations into five of those names, the links to which are found below.

Aside from the flood control scandal, Rappler also took the time to look into the rise of Senator Rodante Marcoleta in 2025, exploring the political power of the influential Iglesia ni Cristo — timely, as 2025 marks the tenth year since the INC scandal blew up in 2015.

In August, Rappler compiled all investigations and in-depth stories tackling the huge church scandal. The link to the compilation is also found below.

Over the holiday season, take the time to read these stories and catch up on issues before we head on to an exciting 2026.

All these stories are exclusive to Rappler+ members. If you want full access to our investigations — and to support the journalism behind them — we’d love to have you on board.

We offer different Rappler+ plans depending on what you need: something light, something packed, something to pay it forward, or something for your whole team. Learn more about Rappler+ here.

You can even gift someone a Rappler+ membership this holiday season. Just email plus@rappler.com and we’ll help you set it up.