List of political scandals in the Philippines

The following are a list of political scandals in the Philippines

1940s

• Surplus War Property scandal, 1946 – involving former president Manuel Roxas.

1950s

• Golden Arinola scandal, 1950 – which involved Pres. Elpidio Quirino, that led to the creation of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

1960s

• Stonehill controversy, 1962 – involving American businessman Harry Stonehill with a $50-million business empire in the Philippines.
• Jabidah massacre, 1968 – the murder of 28 Moro Muslims, who were clandestinely being trained on the island of Corregidor to instigate a rebellion in Sabah, Malaysia.

1970s

• Dovie Beams Tapes Scandal, 1970 – sex scandal involving Pres. Ferdinand Marcos
• Rolex 12, 1972 – controversy involving Pres. Ferdinand Marcos' favoring certain Generals to propagate his terms of office.
• Coco Levy Fund Scam – controversy involving Pres. Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies for conspired to tax coconut farmers.

1980s

• Manila Film Center Accident and cover up.
• Bataan Nuclear Power Plant bribery and graft case.
• Imelda Marcos' shoe collection
• Marcos scandals – incidents of alleged corruption linked to Japanese Official Development Assistance to the Philippines during the Marcos' administration.
• Operation Big Bird, 1986 – the bungled plan of the Philippine Government to retrieve the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the Marcoses in Swiss banks.

1990s

• Mayor Antonio Sanchez case, 1993 – involving the then-mayor of Calauan, Laguna in the rape and murder of Eileen Sarmenta, a UP Los Baños student, and the murder of Sarmenta's friend, Allan Gomez.
• PEA Amari Scam, 1995 – Pres. Fidel V. Ramos was accused of corruption in the controversial deal that involved the acquisition of 158 hectares of reclaimed land on Manila Bay that was to be converted into so-called Freedom Islands.
• Subic Bay Leadership Dispute, 1998 – Pres. Joseph Estrada's Executive Order No. 1 orders the removal of Richard Gordon as Chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), and replaces him with Felicito Payumo.
• Textbook Scam & Nepotism – Pres. Estrada appoints relatives to government positions, and intervenes in their behalf.
• Hot Cars Scandal – Pres. Estrada assigns seized vehicles by the Bureau of Customs to his Cabinet secretaries and favored political allies.

2000s

• BW Resources scandal – Pres. Estrada and associates profit from an alleged stock manipulation scheme.
• Estrada Midnight Cabinet – Chief of Staff Aprodicio Laquian jests in a press conference that he is the only one sober during the President's "Midnight Cabinet," drinking and gambling sessions in Malacañan Palace.
• Juetengate, 2000 – Chavit Singson exposé on Pres. Joseph Estrada receiving jueteng payoffs and bribes. This led to the impeachment of Estrada and eventual downfall.
• Hello Garci scandal, 2004 – scandal involving Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on committing electoral fraud during the 2004 National Elections.
• Fertilizer Fund scam, 2004 – controversy involving accusations that Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante diverted ₱728 million in fertilizer funds to the 2004 election campaign of President Arroyo.
• GSIS-Meralco bribery case, 2008 – controversy involving Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Conrado Vasquez, Justices Vicente Roxas and Jose Sabio, for the allegations of bribery.
• Philippine National Broadband Network controversy, 2008 – (also referred to as the NBN/ZTE deal or NBN/ZTE mess) involved allegations of corruption in the awarding of a US$329 million construction contract to Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE for the proposed government-managed National Broadband Network (NBN).
• Euro Generals scandal, 2008 – involves Eliseo de la Paz and several Philippine National Police officials who went to Russia on October 2008 to attend the Interpol conference. De la Paz was detained for carrying a large sum of undeclared money.
• Pimentel III vs. Zubiri Senate Electoral Protest, 2008 – Atty. Koko Pimentel filed an election protest at the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) against the proclamation of Juan Miguel Zubiri as senator in the aftermath of the 2007 Philippine Senate election.
• 2009 National Artist Controversy, 2009 – controversial proclamation as National Artists of the Philippines of four individuals via the Presidential prerogative of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, when the four have not been nominated by the selection committee, composed of representatives from National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).

2010s

• 2011 Armed Forces of the Philippines corruption scandal, 2011 – involving former AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Angelo Reyes and several other retired military officials.
• 2013 Senate of the Philippines funds controversy, 2013 – involving former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and several other senator for allegedly use of the operating expenses of senators, known as the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE).
• Priority Development Assistance Fund scam, 2013 – involving businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles and several other linked politicians.
• Ninoy Aquino International Airport bullet planting scandal, 2015 – involving the employees of Office for Transportation Security for accosted and fined for possessing bullet ammunition to the passengers.
• New Bilibid Prison drug trafficking scandal, 2016 – involving former Justice Secretary, now Senator Leila de Lima and several other government officials linked to illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison.
• Ilocos Norte tobacco excise tax funds controversy, 2017 – involving alleged misuse of Ilocos Norte's Tobacco Excise Tax funds by former Governor, now Senator Imee Marcos, partner Mark Chua, and six Ilocos Norte local government officials.
• 2017 Bureau of Customs drug smuggling scandal, 2017 – involving former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon and other officials for smuggling of the ₱6.4 billion worth of methamphetamine, locally known as shabu which was seized in two warehouses in Valenzuela, Metro Manila.
• Good Conduct Time Allowance controversy, 2019 – involving former Bureau of Corrections Director General Nicanor Faeldon and several other government officials for the suppose release of former Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez, the prime suspect in the rape and murder of Eileen Sarmenta and her friend Allan Gomez in June 28–29, 1993, and the release of Josman Aznar, Ariel Balansag, Alberto Caño and James Anthony Uy, the 4 suspects in the rape and murder of sisters Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong in July 16–17, 1997.
• PNP Ninja cops controversy, 2019 – involving former Philippine National Police chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde and several other officers for an allegedly anomalous anti-drug operation in Mexico, Pampanga in November 29, 2013.

2020s

• 2020 Bureau of Immigration bribery scandal, 2020 – involving several officials of the Bureau of Immigration for the scheme in which Chinese nationals are escorted through the immigration process in exchange for an thousands of pesos each.
• ABS-CBN franchise renewal controversy, 2020 – involving Solicitor General Jose Calida, officials of the National Telecommunications Commission and several other personalities for issuing a cease and desist order against ABS-CBN that effectively ceasing broadcast operations on May 5, 2020.

See also

• Corruption in the Philippines