By Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio, Reporter
MORE than 80% of Mega Manila residents believe corruption has worsened under President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., a Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll showed on Thursday, amid his government’s graft crackdown that has fueled public distrust against his government.
Around 84% of Filipinos in Metro Manila and nearby provinces believe there is “a lot” of corruption under Mr. Marcos’ government, the highest level recorded in two decades and surpassing graft perceptions under previous administrations, based on survey data presented by SWS at a roundtable discussion.
About 14% of respondents said there is “some” corruption in the Marcos administration, while 1% said there is “little” and around 0.1% said there is none, according to the pollster, which surveyed 600 Filipinos from Oct. 19 to 22 with a ±4 error margin.
A previous SWS survey conducted in 2018, during the Duterte administration, showed that 45% believed there was pervasive corruption, while 41% said there was some. Under the late President Benigno S.C. Aquino III, percep-tions of widespread corruption peaked at 63% in 2016.
The belief that corruption was pervasive reached 77% in 2001 under former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and 63% under former President Joseph Estrada in 2000.
Corruption allegations in the Philippines are nothing new and every president has seen their administration tainted by accusations of wrongdoing, with many Filipinos believing that corrupt acts under their watch were tolerated or even sanctioned.
But the flood control controversy under the government of Mr. Marcos has struck a chord with Filipinos due to the scale of the alleged fraud and the shock over alleged collusion among politicians and contractors to siphon off billions of pesos from infrastructure projects widely seen as essential in the flood-prone country.
“The corruption scandal that has been very prominent in recent months… Has really captured the political imagination of Filipinos,” Jean S. Encinas-Franco, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines, said at the forum.
“Unlike previous corruption scandals, like the NBN-ZTE deal and the Pharmally scandal, this latest scandal is very visual,” she added, referring to corruption allegations that rocked the administrations of Ms. Arroyo and former President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
The pollster said 77% of Filipinos believe corruption is more widespread now, while 11% said it is about the same as three years ago. Around 12% said corruption was more prevalent three years ago.
While half of the respondents said they had no firsthand experience with government corruption, 16% reported encountering it in the past month, 12% in the last two to three months, 3% in the past four to six months, 5% in the last six to 12 months and 13% more than a year ago.
Only 4% of those who experienced corruption said they reported it, with 3% reporting to government offices, 1% to private anti-corruption groups, and 0.2% to both.
“When we asked, ‘Why didn’t you report it?’ the primary response… Was: ‘Nothing would be done anyway.’,” SWS Vice-President Gerardo A. Sandoval said while presenting the survey at the forum.
ANTI-CORRUPTION EFFORTS
The pollster said 27% of respondents believed anti-corruption efforts under the Marcos administration were not effective at all, while 33% said they were hardly effective. About 19% considered them somewhat effective, and 12% said they were very effective.
Authorities have sped up investigations into projects allegedly tied to the multibillion-peso kickback scheme involving politicians, state engineers and contractors, as public pressure for accountability continues to mount.
The poll showed that 66% of respondents view governance issues as the most pressing concern in society, followed by the economy (15%), social services (10%), democracy (4%), crime (2%), and infrastructure (1%).
“The people are disgusted with corruption and their officials’ behavior and hypocrisy,” Victor Andres C. Manhit, president of think tank Stratbase-ADR Institute, said at the forum. “In their demand for transparency and account-ability, what is being done is barely adequate to even scratch the surface of the crisis.”
Respondents were divided on whether the Independent Commission for Infrastructure would conduct its hearings fairly, with 26% expressing confidence, 35% lacking trust, and 29% undecided
More than half of respondents (56%) said existing laws are insufficient to combat corruption, while 25% said they were adequate. About 19% were undecided, the poll showed.