Public concern over graft and corruption has reached its highest level since 2021, according to Octa Research’s Tugon ng Masa survey conducted from July 4 to 11.
Based on face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adults, the survey showed that 32 percent identified graft and corruption as the most urgent concern, a six-percentage-point increase from 26 percent in the previous survey conducted in March 2026. Researchers noted that the survey period coincided with the formal opening of the Senate impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte and the arrest on plunder charges of prominent Duterte ally Senator Rodante Marcoleta, both of which occurred on July 6.
Duterte’s articles of impeachment also cited the alleged misuse of the vice president’s P612.5 million confidential fund, while Marcoleta’s case stemmed from a P75 million campaign donation that state prosecutors said he failed to include in his campaign and financial disclosure.
‘Concern about fighting graft and corruption in government increased significantly during the second quarter of 2026,’ Octa said in a summary of its findings released to the media on Tuesday.
‘The rise in concern over graft and corruption coincides with heightened media coverage of the flood-control fund scandal, the opening of the Vice President’s impeachment trial, and the arrest of a sitting senator on plunder charges,’ researchers also said.
Concern over the government’s fight against graft and corruption was highest in Metro Manila at 56 percent, followed by Balance Luzon at 32 percent, Mindanao at 26 percent and the Visayas at 21 percent.
Nationwide, the figure stood at 32 percent. It had already reached 31 percent on September 25, 2025, before dropping by five percentage points to 26 percent in the previous survey period.
The increase, researchers said, may reflect ‘renewed public attention to governance and accountability.’
Despite this, graft and corruption ranked only third among Filipinos’ most urgent national concerns.