Filipinos trust media most to address flood control corruption – survey

MANILA, Philippines – A majority of Filipinos view the media as the most reliable institution for addressing the country’s multi-billion-peso flood control corruption, according to the latest Pulse Asia Research, Incorporated survey released on Monday, January 12.

Some 54% of respondents said they have “big trust” in the media in dealing with flood control corruption, while 30% were undecided and 16% expressed little or no trust. Trust in the media in this regard is 3 percentage points higher than in September 2025.

The nationwide survey, conducted from December 12 and 15, 2025, has a ± 2.8% error margin at the 95% confidence level, while subnational estimates for the geographic areas have the following error margins at 95% confidence level: ± 5.7% for Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Rappler’s investigative reporting has highlighted corruption and anomalies in flood control and other infrastructure projects, prompting government investigations. Rappler has also produced a comprehensive map showing how government officials are linked to government contractors. 

Many of these stories were fueled by tips and leads from the public through Rappler Communities’ crowdsourcing feature. 

Civil society organizations followed the media, earning the trust of 47% of respondents, though 41% were undecided, and 12% said they had little or no trust in CSOs’ ability to address flood control corruption.

Low trust in government

Confidence in government remains low as only 30% of Filipinos said they trust President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to address flood control corruption, while 48% expressed no trust, and 22% were undecided. This is statistically unchanged from the September 2025 survey findings, where 32% of Filipinos expressed trust in Marcos to deal with the issue.

In his 2025 State of the Nation Address, Marcos had vowed to crack down on public officials colluding in kickback schemes. But investigations have implicated some of his aides and allies in the controversy.

The Department of Public Works and Highways continues to face public skepticism. It got the least public trust (13%) in ability to address the corruption scandal — though this is 6 percentage points higher than in September 2025, when public trust in the DPWH in dealing with the issue was at 7%.

Public trust in the ability of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to address the scandal is at 18%, 5 percentage points lower than in September 2025. Public trust in the Office of the Ombudsman is at 28%, much lower than the 39% it earned in the previous polling period.

Public indecision on whether or not to trust the ICI in dealing with the problem is highest at 51%, followed by the Ombudsman (49%).

The ICI, which has been hounded by weak and is now down to only one member, its chairman Andres Reyes, has been criticized for a lack of transparency as some hearings were conducted behind closed doors, despite its livestreaming policy. The future of ICI is also in limbo with the resignation of two out of its three commissioners.

Among government institutions, the Senate got the highest public trust in its ability to address the issue at 37%, unchanged from September 2025, while the House of Representatives got 31%, which is 5 percentage points higher. About 41% of Filipinos were unsure whether they trust the two chambers to address the issue. Some lawmakers in both houses have been linked to flood control corruption. 

The House investigation into flood control corruption was halted with the creation of the ICI amid concerns that dozens of lawmakers had links to contractors.

The year 2025 also saw leadership shake-ups in Congress, with the President’s cousin Martin Romualdez stepping down as House speaker and Chiz Escudero being removed as Senate president, after both were linked to the controversy.

Accountability 

While there’s a significant lack of trust in the government’s ability to address the flood control project, the survey results showed that most Filipinos (59%) remain optimistic that government officials found to be involved in the flood control projects scandal will be punished.

This, however, is a significant drop from the 71% of Filipinos who expressed the same sentiment in Pulse Asia’s September 2025 survey.

The survey also showed that 44% of Filipinos are confident in the country’s justice system, while 24% said otherwise, and 33% are undecided.

When the respondents where asked to choose the biggest factor that may effect court decisions on corruption cases, a majority of Filipinos (51%) believe it is the use of influence of government officials to avoid conviction, followed by quality of evidence (25%), length of the trial (16%), and judges’ fairness (8%).

Widespread corruption

According to a Pulse Asia survey conducted during the same polling period, 94% of Filipinos believe that corruption in the country is “widespread.” This is 3 percentage points lower than the 97% of Filipinos who expressed the sentiment in September 2025.

The survey also showed that 74% of Filipinos believe that the extent of corruption has increased in the past 12 months — significantly lower than the 85% who said the same in September 2025.

The survey also showed that majority of Filipinos consider accepting or giving bribes (74%), misusing public funds or company resources (66%), and offering or receiving kickbacks for contracts or services (64%) as corrupt, regardless of whether they occur in public or private settings.

Noticeably, only 21% of Filipinos consider non-disclosure of conflicts of interest as a form of corruption. – Rappler.com