Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

A resident laments the situation in their compound in Barangay Sto. Niño, Paombong, Bulacan, on August 20, 2025, as they remain perennially surrounded by stagnant water. This has become a cause of concern, as it may serve as a breeding ground for dengue-carrying mosquitoes. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS

Jamaine Punzalan

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

Agence France-Presse

<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/177078769285220250820-paombong-bulacan-stagnant-water-JC0340.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A resident laments the situation in their compound in Barangay Sto. Niño, Paombong, Bulacan, on August 20, 2025, as they remain perennially surrounded by stagnant water. This has become a cause of concern, as it may serve as a breeding ground for dengue-carrying mosquitoes. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p>MANILA — Swiped by a scandal over bogus flood control projects, the Philippines slipped to the 120th place out of 182 territories in Transparency International&#x27;s 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). </p><p>This is six notches lower than the Philippine placement in the 2024 CPI, which ranks territories based on experts and business executives&#x27; assessment of corruption in the public sector, including bribery, diversion of public funds, red tape, and nepotistic appointments, among others. </p><p>On a scale of 0 or highly corrupt to 100 or very clean, the Philippines scored 32, a point lower than its 2024 rating. </p><p>This is below the global average, which &quot;has fallen to a new low of 42&quot;, Berlin-based Transparency International said. </p><p>&quot;While 31 countries have significantly reduced their corruption levels since 2012, the rest are failing to tackle the problem – they have stayed stagnant or got worse during the same period,&quot; it said. </p><p>&quot;More than two-thirds of countries score below 50. And people are paying the price, as corruption leads to under-funded hospitals, unbuilt flood defenses and blights the hopes and dreams of young people,&quot; it added. </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>GLOBAL RANKINGS </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>The anti-graft watchdog noted that &quot;even established democracies, like the US, UK and New Zealand, are experiencing a drop in performance.&quot; </p><p>The United States had slid to the lowest-ever score of 64 on the2025 CPI, with the report noting that its &quot;political climate has been deteriorating for more than a decade&quot;.</p><p>US President Donald Trump, since returning to the White House early last year, has upended domestic and foreign politics while ramping up pressure on institutions ranging from universities to the Federal Reserve.</p><p>Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is currently under investigation by Trump&#x27;s Department of Justice after resisting pressure from the president to reduce interest rates.</p><p>TI raised concerns over &quot;actions targeting independent voices and undermining judicial independence&quot; in the US.</p><p>The Trump administration&#x27;s gutting of overseas aid has also &quot;weakened global anti-corruption efforts&quot;, it said.</p><p>The highest-ranked nation in the index for the eighth year running was Denmark with a score of 89.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>&#x27;EXPECTED&#x27;</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Meanwhile, Malacanang said the Philippines’ decline in CPI ranking was “expected” after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a nationwide investigation into anomalous flood control projects last year. </p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/9/palace-too-early-to-say-marcos-corruption-crackdown-failed-1724">Palace on PH’s possible reentry to FATF grey list: ‘Too early’ to say Marcos’ corruption crackdown failed</a></div><p>“Expected po yan dahil binuksan ng Pangulo ang issue ng korapsyon,” Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro told Palace reporters.</p><p>“Expected po talaga na mabubunyag ang korapsyon na nagawa noong nakaraan,” she added.</p><p>Castro also dismissed claims that the Marcos Jr. administration had supposedly lost its interest in going after those involved in billions worth of missing or substandard infrastructure projects.</p><p>“On the part of the President, that is not true. Hindi nawawalan ng interes ang Pangulo,” she said.</p><p>“Sabi ng Pangulo siya ay tututok sa ekonomiya para sa ating mga kababayan na hindi lang puro pulitika ang tinututukan,” she said.</p><p>The Philippines failed to hit its growth target in 2025 after the economy’s growth in the fourth quarter slowed down to 3 percent, with several analysts linking the decline in momentum to investors’ jitters over massive corruption schemes in the country.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2026/1/30/ph-heading-to-low-growth-era-no-longer-attractive-to-foreign-investors-economist-1201">PH heading to low-growth era, no longer attractive to foreign investors—economist</a></div><p>The Philippines also lodged a higher unemployment rate of 4.2 percent in 2025 after several public construction works were halted due to the corruption scandal.</p><p>Meantime, the President has yet to release his decision regarding the Independent Commission for Infrastructure’s finding in its nearly half-year investigation into anomalies surrounding the government’s anti-flood programs, the Palace official said.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS: </strong></div><div><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><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/Bs7hmpuRmZA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Swiped by a scandal over bogus flood control projects, the Philippines slipped to the 120th place out of 182 territories in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).</p>

Swiped by a scandal over bogus flood control projects, the Philippines slipped to the 120th place out of 182 territories in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

Philippines slips to 120th place in corruption index

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Philippines slips to 120th place in corruption index

Jamaine Punzalan,

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News,

Agence France-Presse

Published February 11, 2026 01:34 PM PHT

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Updated February 12, 2026 09:39 AM PHT

Read More:

flood control scandal

corruption

Corruption Perceptions Index

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