The Scandals That Cost the Philippines the Most
A deputy ombudsman estimated in 2019 that the Philippines loses around ₱700 billion a year to corruption. That money is healthcare, classrooms and flood walls that never get built. Here are some of the biggest cases, and what they have in common.
Marcos Sr.: martial law plunder (1965–1986)
Under Ferdinand Marcos Sr., the country's foreign debt rose from under $1 billion to more than $25 billion. The Presidential Commission on Good Government has estimated the Marcos family's ill-gotten wealth at $5 billion to $10 billion. Human rights groups documented thousands of killings, tens of thousands tortured and some 70,000 imprisoned under martial law. Much of the wealth has never been recovered.
The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
Commissioned under Marcos and built near a volcano and fault lines, the plant cost more than $2 billion. It was completed in the mid-1980s and never operated. Allegations of kickbacks to Marcos through a crony have followed it for decades, and Filipinos paid off its debt until 2007 — for a plant that never produced a single watt.
The fertilizer fund scam (2004)
About ₱728 million meant for farmers' fertilizer under the Arroyo administration was allegedly diverted to boost campaigns ahead of the 2004 election.
The pork barrel (PDAF) scam
Investigations revealed that around ₱10 billion in lawmakers' Priority Development Assistance Funds was funneled through fake NGOs linked to businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles — ghost projects, no farmers trained, no supplies delivered. Napoles was convicted. Several senators were charged with plunder; the cases ended in mixed rulings, including acquittals.
Pharmally (2020–2021)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, a Senate inquiry flagged more than ₱8 billion in government contracts awarded to Pharmally, a company with very little capital and no track record, amid reports of overpriced and substandard supplies.
The drug war (2016–2022)
Under Rodrigo Duterte's anti-drug campaign, official figures counted more than 6,000 people killed in police operations; human rights groups estimate the total at up to 30,000, most of them poor. Duterte was arrested and taken to the International Criminal Court in The Hague in March 2025.
Flood control ghost projects (2023–2025)
Billions of pesos meant for flood control went to projects that were substandard or never built, even as floods kept killing Filipinos. The Finance Secretary told the Senate the country may have lost as much as ₱118.5 billion. The scandal brought tens of thousands into the streets in September 2025. (We cover it in more detail in a separate post.)
The pattern
Every era, the names change and the numbers get bigger. A few people are convicted, many walk free, some return to office — and ordinary Filipinos absorb the loss in higher prices, lower wages and floods that should have been stopped. This isn't about one party or one family. It's about a system built to extract, and the people who keep feeding it.
Sources
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Wear the history. These Ugat pieces carry the roots behind this post:
Know History, Know Self. No History, No Self.
Ugat means root. We design Filipino streetwear rooted in our history, from Baybayin tees to our oversized barong-style jerseys. Follow us on Instagram at @ugatclothing.
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