Mayors, treasurers form strongest corruption link

MANILA, Philippines — The officials most frequently connected in corruption cases are not two politicians working together, but an elected official and a bureaucrat whose position provides access to the government’s finances.

This was pointed out by Dr. Alicor Panao, a data scientist for the Inquirer and an associate professor at the University of the Philippines, in a network analysis of more than 1,800 public officials involved in over 400 cases before the Sandiganbayan from 2016 to 2025.

Panao explained that corruption is often imagined as a deal between politicians, with one elected official helping another divert public resources and steer or manipulate government contracts.

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But Panao said this is not always the case, stressing that a closer look reveals a more intricate picture — one involving elected and appointed officials, such as local chief executives and treasurers.

“Together, these relationships suggest that corruption networks are not confined to political alliances. They also run through the administrative relationships that connect political authority to the government bureaucracy,” he said.

Based on the network analysis, Panao said mayors and treasurers formed the strongest connection, with a weight of 83, followed by accountants and mayors at 72. Accountants and treasurers registered a weight of 63.

The connection between accountants and budget officers had a weight of 51, while budget officers and local chief executives were connected in 45 cases. Budget officers and treasurers were connected in 38 cases.

“The pattern extends across the local government machinery, with engineers linked to mayors 30 times and to treasurers 25 times,” Panao said.

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A different but equally revealing pattern emerged at the national level, Panao said. Bureau directors were most frequently connected with members of the House of Representatives, while representatives also had recurring links with chief accountants.

Accountants and regional directors likewise formed a notable connection, with a weight of 18.

“Public money rarely moves through a single office. A government transaction typically passes through a chain of political decisions, budgeting, procurement, accounting, approval and disbursement,” Panao said.

Based on the established network, “officials occupying different points along this chain repeatedly appear together in graft cases.”

“Corruption, therefore, may be shaped not only by individual choices but also by the institutional relationships through which government transactions are carried out,” Panao explained.

“This has important implications for anti-corruption efforts,” he said.

“If corruption repeatedly concentrates at the points where political authority intersects with financial and administrative control, then those institutional connections may deserve scrutiny alongside the individuals who occupy them,” Panao said. /dm