MORE than half of registered voters say they would likely reject candidates involved in the flood control scam, while the biggest group wants a broader investigation into infrastructure projects corruption, the Pahayag survey found.
The nationwide poll conducted by PUBLiCUS Asia Inc. from Oct. 1 to 4 showed that 55 percent of respondents would be unlikely to vote for lawmakers established to have been involved in the controversy. The same proportion expressed an unwillingness to vote for an implicated local government official in the 2028 national and local elections.
The findings suggest potential electoral consequences for officials linked to the alleged irregularities, although respondents’ stated intentions do not necessarily predict how they will vote.
On the investigation, 38 percent of respondents favored expanding the partial report into a comprehensive probe covering all individuals, government agencies, contractors and groups that may have been involved.
Another 19 percent said cases should be filed based on the partial report’s findings rather than waiting for a broader investigation, while 14 percent favored continuing the Senate investigation through its Blue Ribbon Committee
The survey also found that voters attribute responsibility for the controversy to officials at the highest levels of government.
Thirty-five percent identified President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., either jointly with the House speaker and Senate president in approving the national budget or through the principle of command responsibility, as bearing the greatest responsibility for the alleged irregularities.
The survey release said 41 percent cited the final approval of the national budget by the president, House speaker and Senate president. This rose to 47 percent among respondents who attributed responsibility to the president alone under the principle of command responsibility.
Government officials in implementing agencies and contractors were also identified as accountable by 19 percent and 13 percent of respondents, respectively.
Voters associated government agencies with project implementation and monitoring, cited by 25 percent and contractors with project execution, cited by 24 percent. Reports and evidence presented during investigations were cited by 23 percent to 24 percent of respondents as a basis for identifying accountability.
The potential electoral backlash was particularly pronounced in the National Capital Region, where 64 percent said they would not vote for officials implicated in the controversy.
Among Generation X respondents, 61 percent said they would not vote for an implicated member of the House of Representatives, while 63 percent expressed the same position toward implicated local government officials.
Baby boomers registered the highest stated rejection, with 68 percent saying they would not vote for an implicated congressman or congresswoman and 71 percent saying the same of an implicated local government official.
The survey also found concerns about the proposed 2027 national budget, with 35 percent of respondents worried that a substantial portion could be lost to corruption, misuse or improper spending.
Such concerns were higher in the NCR at 40 percent and North-Central Luzon at 37 percent. By age group, baby boomers registered the highest level of concern at 42 percent, followed by millennials at 37 percent and Generation X at 35 percent.
Another 22 percent worried that the budget could be used to favor certain candidates or the administration in the 2028 elections.
In contrast, 13 percent believed the budget would primarily fund priority sectors and essential public services, including education, health and social welfare. Another 12 percent said it would support government programs and services, but that the benefits might remain insufficient or not be widely felt by the public.
The Pahayag Public Opinion Quarterly survey for the third quarter of 2026 covered 1,581 registered Filipino voters from Oct. 1 to 4. Respondents were selected from the PureSpectrum market research panel through purposive sampling.
The survey release reported a national margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Because the survey used a nonprobability sampling method, however, the reported margin of error should be interpreted with caution.
Pahayag is the corporate social responsibility initiative of PUBLiCUS Asia Inc., which has tracked key metrics since 2017. Vox Opinion Research has served as the company’s research arm since 2013.
