MANILA: Corruption has emerged as one of the main national concerns among Filipinos, a new survey showed on Monday, amid controversy over irregularities in flood control projects.
Nationwide outrage in the Philippines has grown since August as investigators uncovered massive fund misappropriation in flood prevention and mitigation projects.
An audit ordered by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. found that of the 545 billion pesos ($9.54 billion) allocated to the projects since 2022, thousands were substandard, poorly documented, or nonexistent.
Several powerful political figures have been implicated, fueling public backlash in one of the world’s most typhoon-prone countries.
The situation has catapulted concerns over corruption to the second biggest worry of Filipinos, right after the increase in prices of basic goods and services, according to a survey by OCTA Research, an independent group of Philippine academics specialized in public opinion polls.
