The Philippines suffers from widespread corruption, which developed during the Spanish colonial period. According to GAN Integrity's Philippines Corruption Report updated May 2020, the Philippines suffers from many incidents of corruption and crime in many aspects of civic life and in various sectors. Such corruption risks are rampant throughout the state's judicial system, police service, public services, land administration, and natural resources. Examples of corruption in the Philippines include graft, bribery, favouritism, nepotism, impunity, embezzlement, extortion, racketeering, fraud, tax evasion, lack of transparency, lack of sufficient enforcement of laws and government policies, and consistent lack of support for human rights.
Perceived decline and resurgence
Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index scores a list of countries on a scale from 0 ("highly corrupt") to 100 ("very clean"), then ranks them by score. The country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. In 2012, President Benigno Aquino said that, according to Transparency International, the factors driving the progress in the Philippines' Corruption Perception Index scores at that time were improved government service and reduced red tape. Between 2012 and 2014, the Philippines's score rose from 34 to its highest-ever score of 38.
A November 2020 Transparency International survey of nearly 20,000 citizens from 17 countries, surveyed mostly between June and September 2020, showed that Filipinos have more confidence in their government's tackling of corruption than their Asian neighbors, although they also believe corruption in government remains a big problem. 64% of Philippine respondents thought that corruption had decreased in the last 12 months, while 24% believed that it had increased. This was better than the average across Asia, where only 32% believed that corruption had decreased and 38% said that it had increased.
In contrast, the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, which scored 180 countries worldwide, gave the Philippines a score of 33. When ranked by score, the Philippines ranked 116th among the 180 countries in the Index. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90 (ranked 1), the worst score was 12 (ranked 180), and the average score was 43. For comparison with regional scores, the highest score among Asia Pacific countries was 87, the lowest score was 15 and the average score was 45. In 2021 and 2022, Transparency International reported the Philippines as a "significant decliner" in score for the region; the country had dropped to a score of 33 in those years from its 2014 high of 38.
Corruption in the police service
The Police System of the Philippines poses a high risk of corruption, with the Philippines National Police (PNP) considered to be one of the most corrupt institutions within the country. There are several reports of national police officers and members of the military engaging in criminal activities such as extortion, corruption and involvement in local rackets. Private businesses also report that they cannot solely rely on the support of the police and half of them choose to pay for private security.
According to CNN Philippines, Police Commissioner Mr. Sombero was under investigation in a corruption case for allegedly facilitating a PHP 50 million bribe from gambling tycoon Jack Lam, who tried to bribe immigration authorities to release approximately 1,300 Chinese nationals who were working in his resorts illegally.
Corruption in the judicial system
Corruption in the Philippine judicial system is also a major problem. Bribery and irregular payments in return for favourable judicial decisions are quite common. Although judicial officials are independent by law, rich and powerful groups and individuals wield control and influence over the judicial system and influence the outcomes of civil and criminal proceedings. Financial investment dispute often take an unnecessarily long period of time due to staffing shortages, lack of resources, and corruption in the court system. The low salaries of judicial officials help exacerbate the problem of bribery in exchange for favours. The judiciary is also criticised for making non-transparent and biased judicial decisions.