For Pinoys, inflation is top concern; corruption next–Pulse
Amid the ongoing investigations into anomalous infrastructure projects, fighting graft and corruption has emerged as the second most urgent national concern among Filipinos in the latest Pulse Asia survey released on Monday.
Conducted on Sept. 27 to Sept. 30, a week after the Sep. 21 Trillion-Peso March, the survey showed that out of 17 national concerns, controlling inflation and fighting corruption was foremost for a majority of the respondents.
It said that 54 percent of the respondents placed inflation as the top national concern, while 51 percent cited fighting corruption as an urgent concern in the country.
The ranking for fighting corruption showed a sharp increase from a similar survey in June 2025, where it was fifth with 24 percent.
Concern over corruption was highest in Luzon outside Metro Manila at 56 percent, followed by the Visayas (55 percent), Metro Manila (50 percent), and Mindanao (39 percent).
Congress has ongoing investigations into the alleged anomalous flood control projects across the country, as well as the budget insertions in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) weeks before the survey period.
A call to action
The newly created Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) also began its probe of the misuse of funds in infrastructure projects implemented since 2015 and submitted its first interim report to the Office of the Ombudsman on Sept. 29, 2025.
Malacañang has brushed off the results of the survey, maintaining that President Marcos does not rely on these polls and will just continue doing his job.
“The President is not alarmed by the numbers,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said in a briefing on Tuesday.
“He continues to work hard to further fight corruption in the country, and he has previously said that ratings should not be based solely on one survey,” she added.
But for Pulse Asia Research president Ronald Holmes, the survey results should serve as a call for the Marcos administration to exert more effort, especially in its anticorruption campaign.
“If you look at the numbers alone, then that means Filipinos are basically unhappy with regard to what the administration is doing in addressing the concerns,” he said in an interview on ANC.
“[If] you have seven out of 10 Filipinos saying they are disapproving of the performance of the administration in fighting corruption, then the administration has to really take this as a signal. They have to do more,” Holmes pointed out.
According to Holmes, while the rising prices of goods and services has always been a No. 1 concern for Filipinos, it was only more recently that corruption has been among the top issues for the public.
“In terms of corruption, I think the last time that we saw it in the top three was prior to the Aquino administration,” Holmes said, referring to the presidencies of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Joseph “Erap” Estrada.
He largely attributed this to the “signaling effect” of President Marcos, who emphasized his denouncement of corruption involved in the flood control projects during his fourth State of the Nation Address in July.
“Basically, it’s a clear indication that people really feel that [corruption] is an issue that must be attended to resolutely and seriously in all honesty by the national administration,” Holmes said.
Wages, crime, poverty
Concern over inflation was consistently high across all areas: 63 percent in Mindanao, 56 percent in Metro Manila, 54 percent in the Visayas, and 49 percent in Luzon outside Metro Manila.
Across socioeconomic classes, concern over corruption was highest in Class ABC with 66 percent, followed by Class D (49 percent) and Class E (44 percent).
Concern over inflation was highest among Classes D and E (both 55 percent), followed by Class ABC (47 percent).
According to the survey, other top urgent concerns of the country include increasing worker’s wages at 37 percent, fighting criminality at 23 percent, reducing poverty at 23 percent, fighting the widespread sale and use of illegal drugs at 22 percent, and creating more jobs at 20 percent.
Tax reduction and providing assistance to farmers scored 12 percent and 11 percent, respectively.
Only 10 percent of Filipinos classified promoting peace in the country and addressing involuntary hunger as urgent.
Least concerning to respondents were enforcing the law (8 percent), stopping the destruction and abuse of the environment (6 percent), providing support to small entrepreneurs (5 percent), defending national integrity (4 percent), Overseas Filipino Worker welfare (3 percent), and preparation to face any kind of terrorism (1 percent).
Flood control was a new issue in the September survey volunteered by 1 percent of the respondents. This item was not present in the previous June survey.
Approval ratings
The survey also revealed that the Marcos administration earned majority approval ratings only in OFW welfare, with an approval rate of 58 percent.
Responding to the needs of areas affected by calamities and defending national integrity came close to a majority approval rating, with 46 percent and 43 percent, respectively.
The administration posted a low score in fighting graft and corruption in the government (69-percent disapproval versus a 17-percent approval).
Disapproval was also notably high in areas such as controlling inflation (64 percent), fighting widespread sale and use of drugs (61 percent), and reducing poverty (57 percent).
Other national issues with elevated disapproval are fighting criminality (44 percent) and involuntary hunger (43 percent).
Pulse Asia interviewed 1,200 adult respondents nationwide and used a margin of error of plus-or-minus 2.8 percentage points at a national level and plus-or-minus 5.7 percent for subnational estimates.
