PH places 120th among 182 countries in corruption perceptions index
The Philippines placed 120 out of 182 countries in the latest edition of the Corruption Perceptions Index.
Conducted by the global monitor Transparency International, the index rated the Philippines at 32 out of 100, a figure derived from the perceived level of corruption in the country.
This is lower than in 2024, when the country ranked 114th globally with a score of 33.
A country’s score is the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0-100, where 0 means highly corrupt and 100 means very clean.
Meanwhile, a country's rank is its position relative to the other countries in the index. Ranks can change merely if the number of countries included in the index changes, and are "not as important as the score in terms of indicating the level of corruption in that country."
The Philippines is tied with Togo, El Salvador, and Angola at having a score of 32. This is below the global average of 42.
Applying the scoring rules of the index, South Sudan and Somalia emerged as the countries with the most corruption, having a score of nine out of 100. On the other side of the spectrum is Denmark, which scored 89 out of 100.
Transparency International stated that the score is a combination of at least three data sources drawn from 13 different corruption surveys and assessments, which are collected by a variety of reputable institutions, including the World Bank and the World Economic Forum.
These cover the following manifestations of public sector corruption:
- Bribery
- Diversion of public funds
- Officials using their public office for private gain without facing consequences
- Ability of governments to contain corruption in the public sector
- Excessive red tape in the public sector which may increase opportunities for corruption
- Nepotistic appointments in the civil service
- Laws ensuring that public officials must disclose their finances and potential conflicts of interest
- Legal protection for people who report cases of bribery and corruption
- State capture by narrow vested interests
- Access to information on public affairs/government activities
The ranking comes as the Philippines faced a severe corruption issue last year when hearings at the House of Representatives and the Senate revealed billions of pesos lost to anomalous flood control projects.
This prompted the formation of the Independent Commission on Infrastructure that will specifically investigate irregularities in flood control projects in the last 10 years.
