Inflation, corruption remain top concerns of Filipinos, survey says
By Saghir Hussain ·
You don't need a survey to tell you life in Manila is getting tighter — but Pulse Asia's latest numbers confirm what every jeepney driver and sari-sari store owner already knows. Inflation and corruption aren't "concerns." They're the daily grind.
Forty-two percent of Filipinos say controlling prices is the number one job for government. Fighting graft comes second at thirty-six percent. Those aren't abstract policy priorities. They're the reason your OFW remittance buys less rice each month, why the barangay permit still needs a "facilitation fee," and why small businesses fold while the usual suspects win the contracts.
Look around the region and the picture sharpens. Malaysia's central bank just signalled it has room to cut rates — something Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas can only dream of while inflation stays sticky. The UK economy crawled 0.1% in August and Britain's still screaming about the cost of living. Meanwhile Chinese EVs and robot vacuums flood Southeast Asian markets, undercutting local producers who can't compete with state-backed scale.
Marcos Jr. talked a big game on transparency. The numbers say Filipinos aren't buying it. Neither are foreign investors watching the same corruption indices that keep capital flight ticking over.
When the price of galunggong matters more than the West Philippine Sea rhetoric, you know the social contract is fraying. The question isn't whether the administration hears the noise — it's whether they'll finally do something about it, or just wait for the next survey to confirm what everyone already lives.