THE Philippines almost did not move in the global corruption index last year despite the shocking revelation of anomalies involving flood control projects. In the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index released by Transparency International on Tuesday, the country had a score of 32, which is -1 lower compared to 2024, and was ranked 120th of 182 countries. The report described the Philippines as a “climate change impacted” country, following the issues surrounding flood control projects, which were mentioned in President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s State of the Nation Address last year. “In climate-change impacted Philippines, citizens were outraged by allegations that a substantial amount of public funds were lost to a fake flood relief project,” it said. “Uniting these movements was a sense that those in charge were abusing their power for private interests, while failing to deliver decent public services, a stable economy and fair opportunities for citizens,” the report added. The report said corruption remains a serious threat in the Asia Pacific region. “With an average regional score of 45 out of 100, high levels of corruption appear to have remained largely unaddressed over the past decade,” the report read. “Frustration within the region at weak governance and limited accountability were clearly felt in 2025, with a surge in young people taking to the streets to demand action and accountability from their governments,” it added. It also cited recent anti-government protests in Indonesia and Nepal, where young people had a role in bringing down their government. According to Transparency International Asia Pacific adviser Ilham Mohamed, governments must act to stop corruption and strengthen democracy. “In many countries across Asia Pacific, good governance is being undermined by weak law enforcement, unaccountable leadership and opacity in political funding. With young people demanding better, leaders must act now to curb corruption and strengthen democracy. Meaningful reforms can rebuild public trust and show those in power are finally listening,” Mohamed said in a statement. Meanwhile, Transparency International called on governments to enforce a new United Nations resolution that prevents and fights corruption. “Transparency International is calling for countries to implement a new UN resolution on preventing and combatting corruption through enhancing transparency in the funding of political parties, public office candidates and electoral campaigns, which countries adopted as part of the UN Convention Against Corruption conference in December. The Asian Electoral Stakeholders Forum in April is a key opportunity for election authorities to commit to the implementation of this resolution,” the group said. This edition of the CPI ranked 182 countries through perceived levels of public sector corruption from a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). Transparency International had been conducting the CPI since 1995 as its leading global indicator of public sector corruption.