Corruption in the Philippines: Young Filipinos Take a Stand
- Abby Cruz
- Oct 30
- 3 min read
In recent news, corruption scandals in the Philippines have enraged fellow Filipinos all over the country. Information from this year has shown more evidence of government officials and nepo-babies misusing government funds. Corruption in the Philippines is not a new issue that sparked but has been one rather recurring over several centuries. Even though this problem has been around for many years, the new wave of corruption that was revealed has caused public outrage. The young generation of Filipinos are the ones who decided to assert their position against the corruption occurring in their country. Several anti-corruption protests were held, and the use of social media facilitated the spread of their cause. Young Filipinos strive to fight against corruption for their future.
Start of Corruption
Corruption has been a long-standing issue in the Philippines, dating back to the Spanish Colonial Era. At the time, the Spanish established a strict hierarchy characterized by inequality that concentrated power in the wealthy and corrupt hands of a select few while the majority of Filipinos under colonial rule lived under poverty. Instead of leaving the government in the hands of capable individuals, the public offices were sold off to those who had enough money to buy it off. This created a government based solely on wealth rather than responsibility, accountability, and the good of the people. Officials were cruel and held policies that benefited only the wealthy few. They collected cash, produce, or labor as tribute from local populations as well as implementing forced labor onto Filipino men without compensation.
Even when Spanish rule ended and American rule was introduced to the Philippines, the system of corruption still persisted. During America’s rule over the Philippines, democratic institutions were introduced in opposition to how the Spanish ruled. Although more democratic practices were used, elite networks were still reinforced which led to more control and corruption.
Recent Corruption
A major corruption scandal was investigated from late 2024 to 2025, centering around the embezzlement of billions of pesos in flood-control funds. The Department of Finance has estimated that about ₱118.5 billion, which is about $2 billion USD, was lost from the economy. High-profile officials and corrupt businesses who worked with them were at the root of these corrupt practices. A few examples are Christopher Co, Noel Cruz, Angelo “Gel” Alonte. Contractors such as Noel Cruz were one of the 15 who were discovered to have gotten ₱100 billion from flood-control projects dating back to 2022.
Take Action
In recent media, people have discovered the social media profiles of the children of those in government positions or in the corrupt business practices. In the posts they flaunt their wealth from taxpayer money by showing off their expensive clothes, bags, accessories, and etc. This has greatly angered the public with how careless they were with the things they bought off of the money from their parent’s corruption. In turn, they have made posts of their own, picking apart how the children of corrupt parents acted and focused on how their taxpayer money was spent by them. Many of these have gone viral, especially on platforms such as Tiktok and Instagram. Claudinde Co, Jammy Cruz, and Gela Alonte are examples of some of the nepo-babies showing off their shopping sprees and vacations paid by taxpayers’ money. Netizens have left comments on their posts criticizing their luxury and made videos about the corrupt acts of their parents on platforms they are active on.
Another effective way that young Filipinos advocate against corruption is partaking in protests and rallies. Some rallies that occurred were Baha sa Luneta and the Trillion Peso March, both taking place on September 21st. Baha sa Luneta was held at Luneta Park in Manila and those who participated were students from universities, including those from the University of the Philippines. The Trillion Peso March took place at the People Power Monument in Quezon City and was led by church leaders, civil society organizations, and youth networks. They took the initiative to put themselves out in public to fight for their natural rights as citizens and to stop the corruption from progressing even more. These people are desperately and actively trying to change the government and society in the Philippines in order to secure their future and the future of more generations to come.
This issue still remains prevalent, even if it sprouted several years ago. It is time to take a stand and support a government that's free from corruption.
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