Majority of Filipinos still hopeful, but doubt growing on flood scam justice

By Adrian H. Halili, Reporter

FEWER Filipinos have expressed confidence that officials implicated in the multibillion-peso flood control scandal will be punished, according to a December survey by Pulse Asia Research, Inc., reflecting growing public skepticism over the government’s handling of one of the country’s biggest corruption controversies.

In a statement on Monday, Pulse Asia said 59% of Filipinos remain optimistic that those accused in the flood control projects will be held accountable. While still a majority, this marked a sharp drop from the 71% confidence level recorded in September 2025.

“The rest of Filipino adults are either ambivalent on the matter or doubtful that the guilty government officials will be punished,” the pollster said.

Confidence varied sharply by region. Respondents in Mindanao were the most optimistic, with 65% saying they expect accountability, followed by Luzon at 62% and the Visayas at 57%.

In contrast, only 42% of respondents in the National Capital Region said they believed those implicated would face punishment.

The waning confidence reflects frustration over the slow pace of investigations and prosecutions, said Hansley A. Juliano, a political science lecturer at Ateneo de Manila University.

“The slow pace of prosecution, the back and forth on the budget, as well as the unwillingness to crack down on politicians of either camp has once again drained credibility on this,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat.

The government’s response has fallen short of restoring trust, even if it has helped temper public anger, said Anthony Lawrence A. Borja, an associate political science professor at De La Salle University in Manila.

“The gravity, speed, extent and overall effectiveness of the government’s response was enough to ease discontent but not enough to outweigh generations’ worth of disappointment,” he said via Messenger.

“Many assume that the entire campaign would fail and be selective, and many might end up justified in their lack of optimism,” he added.

The Marcos administration has faced mounting public outrage since senior lawmakers, Department of Public Works and Highways officials and private contractors were accused of siphoning billions of pesos from funds earmarked for flood control infrastructure beginning in 2022.

The anomalies involve overvalued, underbuilt or “ghost” projects in flood-prone areas.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. earlier vowed that all those involved would be jailed before the end of 2025, amid investigations by the Office of the Ombudsman and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure.

Authorities have since filed cases against several officials and initiated administrative proceedings. Critics, however, said these actions have yet to convince the public that accountability will extend to high-ranking political figures.

Mr. Borja said restoring confidence would require structural reforms rather than isolated prosecutions.

“We need the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan to be effective, functioning bodies that are developed enough to avoid backlogs, and powerful enough to confront all types of offenders,” he said.

Beyond expectations of punishment, the Pulse Asia survey also gauged broader trust in the justice system. About 44% of Filipinos said they believe the country’s courts can handle high-level corruption cases.

“The plurality sentiment in the country is one of confidence in the ability of the justice system to successfully prosecute high-level corruption cases,” Pulse Asia said.

Still, doubts remain widespread. About 24% of respondents said they were not confident in the justice system’s ability to prosecute those accused of corruption, while 33% said they were undecided.

Views were similarly mixed on the effectiveness of legislative investigations. About 36% of Filipinos said Senate inquiries into anomalous flood control projects sometimes reveal the truth but have limited impact.

About three of 10 respondents said such probes are likely to uncover evidence and hold those involved accountable. Meanwhile, 21% said legislative investigations rarely produce meaningful outcomes.

“For a little more than a tenth of Filipino adults (12%), legislative investigations like those being done by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee are primarily for show or political theater,” Pulse Asia said.

Most respondents also expressed concern over the influence of powerful officials on judicial outcomes. About 51% of Filipinos said high-ranking officials could use their influence to affect court decisions and avoid conviction.

“The primary factor that will affect court decisions regarding cases involving corrupt government officials is the use of influence of such officials to avoid being convicted,” the pollster said.

This perception was strongest in Luzon, where 57% shared this view, followed by the Visayas at 51%, Metro Manila at 49% and Mindanao at 43%.

The Pulse Asia survey was conducted through face-to-face interviews with 1,200 Filipinos aged 18 and above from Dec. 12 to 15. It has a ±2.8 percentage-point margin of error.