Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Article (news)

Rowegie Abanto

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176818620659720250909-congress-flood-probe-brice-hernandez-MT1.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A pile of money is shown during a congressional hearing on ghost flood control projects at the House of Representatives. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Optimism among adult Filipinos about the punishment for government officials involved in the flood control scandal dropped by the end of 2025, a new survey by Pulse Asia released Monday suggested.</p><p>The number of Filipinos who believe that corrupt officials involved in infrastructure corruption would be held accountable decreased to 59 percent in December from 71 percent in September, it said.</p><p>The survey, which polled 1,200 adults from December 12 to 15, also saw a bump in the number of Filipinos saying the officials involved in the scandal would not be punished — from 8 percent in September, it edged up to 13 percent.</p><p>The report came more than <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/7/28/-mahiya-naman-kayo-marcos-order-probe-on-corruption-in-flood-control-projects-1725">5 months</a> after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for investigations into the flood control projects in the country, which triggered congressional probes that exposed massive corruption that angered the public.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/10/doj-no-official-recantation-from-henry-alcantara-on-anomalous-flood-control-projects-1939">DOJ: No official recantation from Henry Alcantara on anomalous flood control projects</a></div><p>The government investigations found that there was a collusion among politicians, government executives, and public works contractors in a supposed kickback scheme that allowed corruption of billions of pesos in taxpayers&#x27; money.</p><p>The scandal also led to the filing of cases, return of supposed corruption money and seizure of assets, and arrests of suspects in the scandal, as well as some reforms in government.</p><p>While there have already been arrests of alleged corrupt personalities, critics and the public say the Marcos administration has yet to capture the so-called &quot;big fish&quot; in the corruption scandal, especially the resigned Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co, who has been out of the country since last year. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/12/dizon-to-testify-in-flood-control-cases-vs-zaldy-co-0917">Dizon to testify in flood control case vs Zaldy Co</a></div><p>The decrease in optimism among Filipinos on holding corrupt officials accountable followed warnings from observers that the lack of significant progress in the corruption probes, despite protests both online and offline, could lead to fatigue on the issue.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>PUBLIC OPINION ON SENATE BLUE RIBBON HEARINGS</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The same survey also suggested that about a third of the adult population believe that flood control investigations being
conducted by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee &quot;sometimes reveal the truth but have limited impact.&quot;</p><p>The pollster noted that &quot;agreement with this view becomes more marked from September 2025 to December 2025 (+8 percentage points).&quot;</p><p>It added that about the same percentages of adults are either ambivalent on the
matter of trusting or distrusting the Senate&#x27;s capability to address the flood
control projects issue (41 percent) or trust the body to be able to handle the matter (37 percent).</p><p>The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/11/senate-hearing-on-flood-control-mess-to-resume-on-jan-19-lacson-1812">will resume its inquiry into the flood control scandal on January 19</a>, Monday, said Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who chairs the panel.</p><p>Meanwhile, &quot;near to small majorities&quot; do not trust Marcos (48 percent) and the Department of Public
Works and Highways (59 percent) to deal with the flood control investigations, according to Pulse Asia.</p><p>In addition, &quot;big pluralities to bare majorities&quot; cannot say if they trust or distrust the House of Representatives (41 percent), the Office of the
Ombudsman (49 percent), and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (51 percent), it said. </p><p>The Pulse Asia survey has a ± 2.8 percent margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ggKHfT8oMWY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CTz8aDj5HNQ?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Optimism among adult Filipinos about the punishment for government officials involved in the flood control corruption scandal dropped by the end of 2025, a new survey by Pulse Asia released Monday suggested.</p>

Optimism among adult Filipinos about the punishment for government officials involved in the flood control corruption scandal dropped by the end of 2025, a new survey by Pulse Asia released Monday suggested.

Optimism about punishment for gov't officials in flood control scandal drops: Pulse Asia

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

Traffic

Manila

Horoscope

Nation

Optimism about punishment for gov't officials in flood control scandal drops: Pulse Asia

Rowegie Abanto,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 12, 2026 11:01 AM PHT

Read More:

Flood Control

Flood Control Scandal

Corruption

Pulse Asia

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.