The world’s gaze upon the Philippines now mirrors the nation’s own reckoning with corruption, one that, inevitably, casts its shadow over President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

This spells trouble for the Marcos administration, whose cornerstone of foreign relations, cultivated over the years, was intended to project a favorable investment image overseas.

The emerging view of the pervasive corruption in the country — and of Marcos’ role in it — is that despite his feigned surprise at the extent of the rot that has thrived under his watch, the President cannot easily absolve himself of responsibility.

An organization that decision-makers in Washington widely consult acknowledged that “after all, it was his office that drafted the national budget; he signed the budget bill into law, which means he approved congressional insertions and the agency head implicated in the flood control scandal is part of his Cabinet.”

Filipino protesters believe that Malacañang is following a script that began with Marcos’ State of the Nation Address last July, in which Marcos would be the whistleblower on budget irregularities.

This was after the perversion of the budget under his watch was exposed, and P1 trillion in a pork barrel was created and distributed among his allies.

“Marcos also cannot claim ignorance of how the pork barrel system facilitates corruption, since he served for many terms as governor, congressman and senator before becoming president in 2022,” according to a Washington-based Asia-Pacific news channel.

It recounted that last October, Marcos’ allies in the House of Representatives approved the proposed 2026 budget, which includes allocations for unprogrammed appropriations (UA) that are considered a conduit for a presidential pork barrel that can be used for patronage and to consolidate control of the bureaucracy ahead of the 2028 elections. 

Marcos attended high-profile events in Malaysia and South Korea over the past two weeks, which may have boosted his credentials as a regional leader.

Still, the news report said, “Back home, the global media spotlight mattered little, as citizens have become more weary about corruption.”

Massive rallies are planned within the month, intensifying the call for transparency and accountability in government on the heels of destructive flooding in many parts of the country.

An Asia-Pacific think tank also pointed to the snail-paced investigations into the flood control mess as spreading discontent.

So far, it said, the ICI has submitted its fourth referral to the Ombudsman, either for further investigation or for the filing of charges against incumbent and resigned officials and private contractors behind anomalous flood control projects.

It noticed the theatrics the ICI has resorted to, which have made skeptics even more suspicious of the fact-finding body’s purpose.

“Answering questions from the media on 6 November at the ICI office in Taguig City, Chair Andres Reyes Jr. held up a placard that said, ‘What the world needs now is love, not greed and selfishness,’” the report on the current state of the corruption scandal highlighted.

From the outside, all signs point to the Marcos administration’s collapsing credibility — an unraveling of its own making — as the coverups and diversions tied to a corruption network reaching the highest levels of government have come to light.

The Philippines is back on the international stage — as a pariah of good governance.