Legarda calls for shift from political attacks to transparency, reforms

MANILA, Philippines — Shifting from individual political attacks towards government transparency and comprehensive reforms has become more urgent in light of the ongoing oil crisis and worsening corruption that have taken an economic toll on the Philippines.

“Corruption is more than a political issue. It’s a moral one. It’s the people who suffer from the misappropriation of public funds. This is the primary reason why our countrymen continue to be poor. The heavy crisis that citizens cannot be addressed for as long as their pockets are being dipped into,” Legarda said in Filipino in a statement issued on Friday.

Citing recent data, Legarda said the Philippines’ governance transparency is in a steep decline, plummeting to 120th out of 182 countries in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index with a score of 32/100, which makes it among the worst in Southeast Asia.

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READ: Corruption and the peso’s growing vulnerability

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‘Financial hemorrhaging’

“These numbers manifest a painful reality resulting in a massive financial hemorrhaging,” Legarda said.

She also cited a statement by Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian that the economy lost an estimated ₱2.75 trillion from the second quarter of 2025 to the second quarter of 2026 due to corruption and inflation, including actual economic losses and foregone opportunities.

“When the loss to our economy has become this big, we can’t just talk about corruption whenever there’s a new scandal. We should continuously look for the weaknesses in our system, where the process can be abused, and how we can fix this before public funds are lost,” Legarda said.

As she pointed out, these financial leakages are evident in the recent multibillion-peso flood control scandal, where billions of pesos in public spending have come under scrutiny over alleged ghost, substandard, and anomalous projects and contracts.

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“With the heaviness of the burden our countrymen are carrying, we cannot allow corruption to take more away from funds that should address all their needs. As the government, we should be the ones to take on the burden carried by the people and not be the reason to add to it,” Legarda said.

Despite the people’s hardships, she pointed out, the Department of Finance (DOF) remained adamant in its refusal to suspend excise taxes on diesel and gasoline, citing fears of revenue erosion and a widening sovereign deficit.

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She noted that Finance Secretary Frederick Go had insisted that the suspension of excise taxes on diesel and gasoline was not recommended, as this could result in an estimated P12 billion in monthly revenue losses, leading the government to again implement stopgap measures and targeted ayuda, instead of suspending diesel, which is largely used by the industry.

“If we’re afraid to lose ₱12 billion every month to tax relief, we should be more afraid of the trillions of pesos lost from the economy because of corruption and the harm it causes. We cannot be strict about collecting taxes from people while we continue to allow funds to get drained by corruption,” Legarda said.

‘Tapat na Paglilingkod Act’

To address corruption, Legarda is championing Senate Bill No. 523, or the proposed Tapat na Paglilingkod Act.

According to her, this bill aims to transform how the government prevents, detects, and prosecutes graft by institutionalizing a proactive, whole-of-society approach.

The bill offers a complete solution by establishing the Anti-Corruption Mainstreaming Council (ACMC) and mandating a six-year National Anti-Corruption Mainstreaming Agenda.

Under this model, all government units must submit sworn annual Corruption Vulnerability Lists to identify and mitigate institutional risks before they escalate, with strict penalties, including automatic referral to the Office of the Ombudsman and the Commission on Audit, enforced for consecutive failures.

At the heart of the measure is an approach that remains relatively new in Philippine governance: treating anti-corruption as a concern that must be mainstreamed throughout the government.

“We have many laws against corruption. We have also conducted many investigations and filed many cases all this time. But why does it [corruption] continue? Because if our system itself has loopholes, there will always be those who will take advantage,” Legarda said.

“That’s what the Tapat na Paglilingkod Act wants to change. Anti-corruption should not have a separate program. It should be embedded in the system of every agency — from planning to budget, up to procurement, hiring, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation,” she added.

READ: Graft, corruption concerns in PH highest since 2021 – survey

Mainstreaming

Legarda emphasized that mainstreaming would also require changing the culture surrounding corruption inside government.

“Talking about corruption should not be embarrassing. An honest employee shouldn’t be worried because he has seen something wrong and wants to call it out. An institution should not consider as an enemy a person who asks if what we’re doing is right,” she said.

“It’s the corrupt who should be ashamed, not those with the courage to speak out. It’s those who steal from the public who should be afraid, not those who want to protect public funds,” she added.

The bill also provides safeguards for whistleblowers and good-faith disclosures, regular integrity discussions within government offices, public transparency mechanisms, and the use of digital tools to detect corruption risks.

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“Billions of pesos need not be lost before we check if the process has a problem. There should be no need for a whistleblower, a Senate hearing, or a big scandal before we act. We should be able to see the danger early and fix the system before it can be abused,” Legarda said. /atm