# List of political scandals in the Philippines

The following are a list of political scandals in the Philippines.

## 1940s

| Date | Branch | Department | Party | People Involved | Summary | Source |
| 1946 | Executive | Office of the President | Liberal | Manuel Roxas | Surplus War Property scandal- disposed $90 billion of surplus war property held by the United States government in the final year of World War II, which caused a huge corruption scandal that led to the rise of the leftist HUKBALAHAP and for Roxas's approval ratings to crash toward the end of his administration. | |

## 1950s

| Date | Branch | Department | Party | People Involved | Summary | Source |
| 1950 | Executive | Office of the President | Liberal | Elpidio Quirino | Golden Arinola scandal – which involved Pres. Elpidio Quirino, that led to the creation of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. | |

## 1960s

| Date | Branch | Department | Party | People Involved | Summary | Source |
| March 2, 1962 | All Branches | Department of Justice | Multiple parties See also: Stonehill scandal | Harry Stonehill, DOJ Sec. Jose W. Diokno, Pres. Diosdado Macapagal, Ferdinand Marcos, et al. | Stonehill controversy – involving American businessman Harry Stonehill with a $50-million business empire in the Philippines; | |
| 1968 | | | | | Jabidah massacre – the murder of an estimated 28 to 68 Moro Muslims, who were clandestinely being trained on the island of Corregidor to instigate a rebellion in Sabah, Malaysia. | |

## 1970s

| Date | Branch | Department | Party | People Involved | Summary |
| 1970 | Executive | Office of the President | Kilusang Bagong Lipunan | Ferdinand Marcos | Dovie Beams Tapes Scandal – sex scandal involving Pres. Ferdinand Marcos |
| 1972 | Executive | Office of the President | Kilusang Bagong Lipunan | Ferdinand Marcos | Rolex 12 – controversy involving Pres. Ferdinand Marcos' favoring certain Generals to propagate his terms of office. |
| 1973 - 1982 | Executive | Office of the President | Kilusang Bagong Lipunan | Ferdinand Marcos | Coco Levy Fund Scam – controversy involving Pres. Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies for conspired to tax coconut farmers. |

## 1980s

| Date | Branch | Department | Party | People Involved | Summary |
| 1981 | | | | Imelda Marcos | Manila Film Center Accident and cover up. |
| 1984 (2012) | Executive | Ministry of Energy | | Ferdinand Marcos, Herminio Disini | Bataan Nuclear Power Plant bribery and graft case. |
| 1986 | | First Lady | Kilusang Bagong Lipunan | Imelda Marcos | Imelda Marcos' shoe collection |
| | Executive | Office of the President | Kilusang Bagong Lipunan | Ferdinand Marcos | Marcos scandals – incidents of alleged corruption linked to Japanese Official Development Assistance to the Philippines during the Marcos' administration. |
| 1986 | | | | | Operation Big Bird, 1986 – the bungled plan of the Philippine Government to retrieve the unexplained wealth of the Marcos family in Swiss banks. |

## 1990s

| Date | Branch | Department | Party | People Involved | Summary |
| 1993 | Local Government | Province | | Antonio Sanchez | Mayor Antonio Sanchez case – 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. |
| 1995 | Executive | Office of the President | Lakas–NUCD | Fidel Ramos | PEA Amari Scam – 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. |
| 1998 | Executive | Office of the President | PMP | Joseph Estrada | Subic Bay Leadership Dispute – 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. |
| 1998 | Executive | Office of the President | PMP | Joseph Estrada | Textbook Scam & Nepotism – Pres. Estrada appoints relatives to government positions, and intervenes in their behalf. |
| | Executive | Office of the President | PMP | Joseph Estrada | Hot Cars Scandal – Pres. Estrada assigns seized vehicles by the Bureau of Customs to his Cabinet secretaries and favored political allies. |

## 2000s

| Date | Branch | Department | Party | People Involved | Summary |
| | | Office of the President | PMP | Joseph Estrada | 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. |
| 2000 | Executive | Office of the President | PMP | Joseph Estrada | Juetengate – Chavit Singson exposé on Pres. Joseph Estrada receiving jueteng payoffs and bribes. This led to the impeachment of Estrada and eventual downfall. |
| 2004 | Executive | Office of the President | Lakas–CMD | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | Hello Garci scandal – scandal involving Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on committing electoral fraud during the 2004 National Elections. |
| 2004 | Executive | Office of the President, Department of Agriculture | Lakas–CMD | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Jocelyn Bolante | Fertilizer Fund scam – controversy involving accusations that Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn Bolante diverted ₱728 million in fertilizer funds to the 2004 election campaign of President Arroyo. |
| 2008 | Judicial | Court of Appeals | | Conrado Vasquez, Vicente Roxas, Jose Sabio | GSIS-Meralco bribery case – controversy involving Court of Appeals Presiding Justice Conrado Vasquez, Justices Vicente Roxas and Jose Sabio, for the allegations of bribery. |
| 2008 | | | | | Philippine National Broadband Network controversy – (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). |
| 2008 | Executive | Department of the Interior and Local Government | | Eliseo de la Paz | Euro Generals scandal – involves Eliseo de la Paz and several Philippine National Police officials who went to Russia in October 2008 to attend the Interpol conference. De la Paz was detained for carrying a large sum of undeclared money. |
| 2008 | Legislature | Senate | | Migz Zubiri | Pimentel III vs. Zubiri Senate Electoral Protest – Atty. Koko Pimentel filed an election protest at the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) against the proclamation of Migz Zubiri as senator in the aftermath of the 2007 Philippine Senate election. |
| 2009 | Executive | Office of the President | Lakas–Kampi–CMD | Gloria Macapagal Arroyo | 2009 National Artist Controversy – 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). |
| 2009 | | | | | Maguindanao massacre – involves the Ampatuan family and several others for the kidnapping and killing of 58 people in Ampatuan, Maguindanao. |

## 2010s

| Date | Branch | Department | Party | People Involved | Summary |
| 2010 | Executive | Office of the President | Liberal | Benigno Aquino III | Manila hostage crisis – former president Benigno Aquino III's first term was marred by violence when eight Hong Kong tourists were killed by a disgruntled former police officer Rolando Mendoza, after a bungled hostage rescue attempt by the Manila Police District. The incident also strained ties between the Philippines and Hong Kong. |
| 2011 | Executive | Department of National Defence | | Angelo Reyes | 2011 Armed Forces of the Philippines corruption scandal – involving former AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Angelo Reyes and several other retired military officials. |
| 2013 | Legislature | Senate | PMP | Juan Ponce Enrile | 2013 Senate of the Philippines funds controversy – 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). |
| 2013 | | | | Janet Lim-Napoles, Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, Ramon Revilla Jr., and Lower House representatives | Priority Development Assistance Fund scam – involving businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles and other politicians. |
| 2014 | Executive. Legislature | Office of the President, Senate, House Representatives | Liberal | Benigno Aquino III, Florencio Abad, Renato Corona | Disbursement Acceleration Program controversy – involving former president Benigno Aquino III and Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad to bribe senators and congressmen to impeach and oust Renato Corona in 2012. |
| 2014 | Executive | Office of the Vice President | PDP–Laban | Jejomar Binay | Jejomar Binay's alleged corruption scandal – involving former Vice President Jejomar Binay and several others for the alleged overpriced contract for the multi-billion-peso Makati City Parking building II. |
| 2015 | Executive | Office of the President, Department of the Interior and Local Government | Liberal | Benigno Aquino III, Alan Purisima, Getulio Napeñas | Mamasapano clash – involving former president Benigno Aquino III, former Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima and former Special Action Force head Getulio Napeñas for the deaths of 44 police personnel in a clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, which was dubbed as the biggest loss of government elite force in history. |
| 2015 | Executive | Department of Transportation | | | Ninoy Aquino International Airport bullet planting scandal – involving the employees of Office for Transportation Security for accosted and fined for possessing bullet ammunition to the passengers. |
| 2016 | Executive | Department of Justice | Liberal | Leila de Lima | New Bilibid Prison drug trafficking scandal – involving former Justice Secretary, now Senator Leila de Lima and several other government officials linked to illegal drug trade at the New Bilibid Prison. |
| 2016 | Executive | Department of Justice | | Al Argosino, Michael Robles | 2016 Bureau of Immigration bribery scandal – involving former immigration deputy commissioners Al Argosino and Michael Robles for extorting and receiving ₱50 million from business tycoon Jack Lam, in exchange for the release of his Chinese casino employees, who were arrested for being illegal aliens. |
| 2017 | Executive | Department of the Interior and Local Government | | | Manila Police District secret jail cell scandal – involving officers of the Manila Police District for the discovery of the so-called 'hidden jail', measuring five-feet wide, behind the bookshelf, which contained about 12 prisoners and it was poorly ventilated, except for an exhaust fan in a raid led by the members of the Commission on Human Rights in Tondo, Manila. |
| 2017 | Executive | Department of the Interior and Local Government | Nacionalista | Imee Marcos | Ilocos Norte tobacco excise tax funds controversy – 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 | Executive | Department of Finance | | Nicanor Faeldon | 2017 Bureau of Customs drug smuggling scandal – 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. |
| 2017 | | | | Andres Bautista | Andres Bautista's alleged corruption scandal – involving former Commission on Elections chairman Andres Bautista after his estranged wife, Patricia, accused him of amassing unexplained wealth. |
| 2017 | Executive | Office of the President, Cabinet | | Benigno Aquino III, Janette Garin, Florencio Abad | Dengvaxia controversy – involving former president Benigno Aquino III, Health Secretary Janette Garin and Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad for the launching of the mass vaccination campaign in 2016, that led to the reports of several children dying from various complications allegedly attributed to the dengue vaccine. |
| 2018 | Executive | Cabinet | PDP–Laban | Wanda Tulfo Teo | DOT–PTV tourism advertisement controversy – involving former Tourism Secretary Wanda Tulfo Teo and Teo's brothers Ben and Erwin Tulfo for the ₱60 million worth of advertisements that the Tourism Department had placed with state-run television and aired over a public service program produced by Bitag Media Unlimited. |
| 2018 | Executive | Department of Tourism | | Cesar Montano | Buhay Carinderia scandal – involving former Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) chief operation officer Cesar Montano for the ₱80 million project that will feature Filipino street food and local eateries. |
| 2018 | Executive | Department of Finance, Department of National Defense | | Isidro Lapeña | 2018 Bureau of Customs drug smuggling scandal – involving former Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña and other officials for smuggling of the ₱11 billion worth of methamphetamine, locally known as shabu which was discovered inside the magnetic lifters in a warehouse in General Mariano Alvarez, Cavite. |
| 2019 | Executive | Department of Justice | | Nicanor Faeldon, Antonio Sanchez | Good Conduct Time Allowance controversy – 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 on 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 on July 16–17, 1997. |
| 2019 | Executive | Department of the Interior and Local Government | | Oscar Albayalde | PNP Ninja cops controversy – involving former Philippine National Police chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde and several other officers for an allegedly anomalous anti-drug operation in Mexico, Pampanga on November 29, 2013. |

## 2020s

| Date | Branch | Department | Party | People Involved | Summary |
| 2020 | Executive | Department of Justice | | | "Pastillias Bribery" scandal – involved several officials of the Bureau of Immigration in the scheme in which mass numbers of Chinese nationals were escorted through the immigration process in exchange for tens of thousands of pesos for each applicant, which totaled to an estimated ₱40 billion. |
| 2020 | Legislature | Senate | PDP–Laban | Koko Pimentel | Home quarantine breaching scandal – Senator Koko Pimentel breached COVID-19 home quarantine restrictions after testing positive to the virus by accompanying his pregnant wife to Makati Medical Centre. This forced a number of medical and hospital staff, who believed to have had contact with the senator, to quarantine. |
| 2020 | Executive | Department of Labor and Employment | PDP–Laban | Mocha Uson, Hans Leo Cacdac | Batangas mass gathering controversy – Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Deputy Administrator Mocha Uson violated the ban on mass gatherings when she organised a meeting with the quarantined 322 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) in Lian, Batangas on April 25, 2020. OWWA Administrator Hans Leo Cacdac suggested that there won't be any investigations happening on the alleged violation of the deputy administrator whilst the crisis is still occurring. |
| 2020 | Legislature, Executive | Department of Justice, House of Representatives, Department of Information and Communications Technology | Nacionalista | Jose Calida, Gamaliel Cordoba, Alan Peter Cayetano, Rodrigo Duterte | ABS-CBN franchise renewal controversy – involving Solicitor General Jose Calida, officials of the National Telecommunications Commission and several other personalities for issuing a cease and desist order and the denial of franchise against ABS-CBN that effectively ceasing broadcast operations on May 5 and July 10, 2020. |
| 2020 | Executive | Department of the Interior and Local Government | | Debold Sinas, Rodrigo Duterte | Mañanita party controversy – Metro Manila police chief Major General Debold Sinas and 18 other subordinates were charged for not following quarantine rules under the Republic Act No. 11332 (Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Concern Act) on May 8, 2020. Despite photos of the gathering posted on the official page of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) on Facebook, Debold Sinas claimed that they followed social distancing measures. Debold Sinas, a presidential appointee, was then later defended by President Rodrigo Duterte saying that police chief will keep his position until further orders. |
| 2020 | Executive | Philippine Health Insurance Corporation | | Ricardo C. Morales, Atty. Thorsson Montes Keith | PhilHealth corruption scandal – involving former president and CEO Ricardo C. Morales and several other officials for the alleged corruption and anomalies within the agency based on the testimonies of former anti-fraud legal officer Atty. Thorsson Montes Keith on July 24, 2020. |
| 2020 | Legislature | House of Representatives | | Alan Peter Cayetano, Lord Allan Velasco | 2020 Philippine House of Representatives leadership crisis – 186 majority members of the House of Representatives elect Lord Allan Jay Velasco as Speaker of the House of Representatives, unseating incumbent Alan Peter Cayetano amidst the political dispute over the Speakership outside the Session Hall of the Batasang Pambansa Complex on October 12, 2020. |
| 2021 | Executive, Legislature | | PDP–Laban | Alfonso Cusi, Manny Pacquiao, Koko Pimentel Rodrigo Duterte, | 2021 PDP–Laban dispute – involving Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and several other personalities for the ousting of its party president, Sen. Manny Pacquiao and its executive vice chairman, Sen. Koko Pimentel on July 17, 2021. This dispute has led to the creation of two factions (Pimentel faction and Cusi faction). |
| 2021 | Executive | Department of Health | | Francisco Duque III, Michael Yang, Lloyd Christopher Lao, Warren Rex Liong, Linconn Ong, Mohit Dargani, Krizle Grace Mago | Pharmally scandal – involving Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and several other officials including Michael Yang, Lloyd Christopher Lao, Linconn Ong and Krizle Grace Mago for the alleged overpriced purchase of face masks, face shields and other medical equipment to the government in August 2021. |
| 2022 | Executive | Department of Agriculture | | Bongbong Marcos, Vic Rodriguez, Hermenegildo Serafica, Roland Beltran, Aurelio Gerardo Valderrama, Jr., and Leocadio Sebastian | 2022–2023 Philippine sugar crisis – involving president Bongbong Marcos, former executive secretary Vic Rodriguez and several other officials from the Sugar Regulatory Administration and the Department of Agriculture for the release of Sugar Order No. 4, which directed the importation of 300,000 MT of sugar to the Philippines in August 2022. |