A corruption scandal in the Philippines continues to unfold, with more testimonies and evidence of fund misuse coming to light. These have already triggered massive protests and could threaten the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The government has committed to resolving the crisis but rising public outrage reflects the clamor for bolder political reforms.
Corruption has consistently plagued Philippine politics. Anger at the issue drove Filipinos to oust the dictatorship of President Ferdinand E. Marcos (father of the current president) in 1986 and the corrupt presidency of Joseph Estrada in 2001. Estrada was convicted of plunder but he received a pardon that allowed him later to successfully run for mayor of the capital Manila.
The lesson from the two People Power movements is that it’s not enough to replace presidents, since the country’s broken political system, dominated by a handful of powerful clans, has remained intact. The “Million People March” in 2013 led to the imprisonment of several pork barrel scam operators, but legislators retained their power to endorse projects in the national budget, which was confirmed in the flood control corruption controversy.
There are some legislative proposals to combat corruption, such as reforming bank secrecy laws and barring relatives of politicians from getting government contracts. These proposals could prove useful but it remains to be seen whether they will be effectively enforced since laws intended to check the hidden wealth of public officials have been undermined by the arbitrary restrictions imposed by authorities.
Public trust has reached such a low point that even the decision of Congress to investigate legislators implicated in the corruption scandal has been belittled as a performative act to cover up the crimes of those in power. An independent commission was established to investigate infrastructure corruption but it is criticized for its refusal to conduct public hearings and its silence over whether it will also look into the accountability of the president.
Despite his denial, Marcos bears responsibility for signing a budget bill containing anomalous insertions and pork barrel projects of his allies. There have been calls for his resignation, but opposition groups are cautious in making this the main demand of the anti-corruption movement since it would hand over the presidency to Vice President Sara Duterte, who is facing an impeachment complaint for betrayal of public trust.
There seems to be a political impasse as the public continues to demand accountability and justice but many have expressed misgivings over what the government is doing and the proposed solutions to the crisis. It is uncertain whether jailing corrupt contractors or filing cases against officials could appease the public. They seem inadequate in comparison to the extent of corruption and the level of public dissatisfaction.
Even conservative forces can sense the need for extra-constitutional actions. An incumbent senator has called for a snap election along with a condition that all incumbent officials be prohibited from participating in it. A former national security adviser has proposed a transition government and mass resignation of officials amid the rampant corruption in the bureaucracy. The military leadership has admitted that some retired generals have tried to agitate and recruit soldiers and police in their call to withdraw support for the Marcos government.
The leader of the influential Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has warned the faithful to reject the “civilian-military junta” and asserted that what is needed is the elimination of corrupt networks in the government. “We seek not the collapse of the state but its redemption,” he said.
“We must restore the systems of checks and balances, counteract disinformation, reform the electoral process, end patronage politics and political dynasties, and renew the moral foundations of public service,” he added.
Meanwhile, Marcos has consistently presented himself as an anti-corruption advocate who is one with the public in condemning the widespread stealing of public funds. Not only is this statement ludicrous since he is from a family accused of normalizing cronyism and plunder during the Martial Law era, but also because his budget bill for next year is still designed to enable patronage through huge allocations for “unprogrammed appropriations.” The opposition Makabayan bloc insists that the pork barrel system is still reflected in the budget by embedding the fund items and insertions to be endorsed by legislators in several agencies.
The budget bill has already been approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate is expected to tackle it next month. Marcos gave an assurance that the bicameral sessions will be livestreamed so that the public can check if legislators will make suspicious insertions.
The budget deliberations and the ongoing investigations are taking place while protests continue to gather strength in schools and communities across the country. The anti-corruption movement is gaining momentum even if there’s no consensus on what changing the bankrupt political system means or the alternative to the current political order. What is increasingly becoming clear is that this movement spearheaded by multisectoral groups, individuals from all sides of the political spectrum, and diverse social forces will not settle for a compromise that simply retains or reorganizes a discredited system.