A two-pronged attack on corruption
In precolonial Philippines, the male datu served as the secular head of the community, but the female babaylan was revered as its spiritual leader. Their roles were interdependent and complementary: the datu governed through political authority and military might, while the babaylan’s power stemmed from her access to the divine and gift for healing. This dual-gender system was said to have created a holistic approach to community decision-making and well-being, ensuring that an assertive leadership style is always tempered by nurturing wisdom.
In a recent leadership training for newly elected and first-term female local officials by the Philippine Commission on Women and UN Women, PCW chair Ermelita Valdeavilla shared how we lost this equitable approach to governance when Spanish colonizers demonized the babaylans to subjugate the Filipino people. The rebranding of feminine strength as weak and inferior has led to the rise of modern institutions that privilege the male perspective.
Government services cannot be neutral; they have to be gender-responsive. Valdeavilla emphasized the need for strategic feminist leadership—a shared commitment from both male and female leaders to proactively “remove factors that sustain unequal gender relations.” This means going beyond abolishing discriminatory practices and enacting new ordinances that address the distinct challenges that women face. One priority area is establishing local policies that support a more equitable care economy. In the Philippines, unpaid care work like household maintenance, childcare, and elderly or sick/disabled care, is disproportionately shouldered by women and girls. They dedicate an average of 11 hours per day to these tasks, four times more than men, revealing how gendered expectations continue to shape Filipino life.
Acknowledge that barriers still exist so they can be addressed. In her research, political scientist Farida Jalalzai found that globally, women are more likely to serve as prime ministers than as presidents, because very few female public officials can overcome the sexism and stereotypes that hinder them from winning the national vote in a presidential system. As a country that has had two female presidents, it is easy to believe that the Philippines must be an exception. However, our small victories should not lead to complacency.
As Dr. Melanie Reyes, executive director of the Miriam College Women and Gender Institute, reminded the training participants, Filipino women continue to face systemic barriers to pursuing public office. This includes the lack of access to campaign funding and financial networks, limited mentorship opportunities, as well as the persistent threat of violence, Red-tagging, harassment, and character attacks. She also pointed out that some women are being conveniently used by political dynasties as “proxies” to maintain the status quo rather than to improve the system. Reyes emphasized that true progress cannot be measured merely by the number of women occupying seats in government, but by how effectively they use their positions to create transformative change.
Those in power must use their position to challenge outdated norms and stereotypes. In a panel discussion, Romblon Gov. Trina Firmalo-Fabic and Santiago Mayor Sheena Pua Tan shared that gender-based discrimination does not disappear once a woman is elected into office, so women leaders must be prepared, secure, and strategic. Firmalo-Fabic noted that resistance is inevitable, but can be addressed through patience, evidence, and collaboration. “You have to explain why the reforms are needed, show that there are results and that something good will come out of it,” she said. “Try your best to get them on board, but if it gets difficult, find out who from your team can help out.” Tan emphasized the importance of consistency to maintaining credibility as a leader, and the best way to institutionalize gender-responsive reforms is through executive orders and ordinances. “It is difficult to be consistent all the time, but we just make it harder for our human frailties to transcend our work,” she shared.
UN Women Philippines coordinator Rosalyn Mesina pointed out that leadership in both government and the private sector has been largely shaped by a “compadre culture, where men work together to protect and advance each other’s interests.” This also fuels a women-against-women dynamic, as some feel compelled to mimic patriarchal behaviors to survive within male-dominated systems. Mesina hopes that building solidarity among female local leaders will create networks of mutual support and help open doors for more women to enter public service.
Valdeavilla reminded the newly elected female officials that they have the DNA of ancient babaylans, and that they come from a “lineage of top-notch humanist leaders” who used their position to nurture communities and uplift others. It is time for more Filipino women to embrace and reclaim that power.
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Corruption in the Philippines is not merely a crime of opportunity; it is a general ailment sustained by legal frameworks that actively protect the corrupt. For decades, ill-gotten wealth has been shielded behind two formidable fortresses: the impenetrable privacy of bank accounts and the anonymous mask of corporate entities. To win the fight against corruption, the Philippines must launch a decisive assault on both fronts simultaneously. Repealing the outdated bank secrecy law and mandating beneficial ownership disclosure for government contractors are not just isolated reforms but complementary, essential strategies to dismantle the infrastructure of graft and reclaim public trust.
The first and most critical fortress to breach is the financial one, protected by the bank secrecy law. This law, originally intended to safeguard financial privacy, has been weaponized into a primary shield for corruption. It creates an incapacitating “chicken and egg” problem for investigators: to obtain a court order to look at an account, they must already possess strong evidence of illicit funds, yet such evidence is often impossible to gather without examining the accounts themselves. This legal barrier forces agencies like the Office of the Ombudsman and the Anti-Money Laundering Council to stand idle while corrupt officials freely move and hide stolen public money across a web of accounts. Repealing this law would transform the anticorruption landscape. It would empower investigators to “follow the money in real time,” swiftly act on suspicions before funds vanish, and build stronger court cases with undeniable transaction trails. This repeal would also act as a “force multiplier,” making laws against plunder and tax evasion enforceable by directly exposing the accumulation of illicit wealth.
The second fortress is the corporate veil, which allows anonymous entities gorging on public funds. Government contracts, funded by taxpayers, are a major instrument for corruption, yet the current system permits companies to win lucrative deals while hiding their true owners. This anonymity is a fertile ground for conflicts of interest, as it becomes impossible to screen for officials awarding contracts to their own shell companies or to businesses owned by relatives and associates. Mandatory beneficial ownership disclosure—revealing the real people who ultimately own or control a company—is the necessary tool to pierce this veil. It transforms intangible corporate entities into accountable individuals, deterring misconduct by ensuring that every entity profiting from public funds has a “human face” that can be scrutinized. Furthermore, this disclosure is indispensable for investigating fraud, as it provides law enforcement with a starting point—a person to question and a network to map—unlocking the corporate maze used to launder money and hide assets.
Skeptics may raise concerns about financial privacy and undue burdens on businesses. However, these worries are manageable and are vastly outweighed by the monumental scale of public theft. A repeal of the bank secrecy law can be crafted with strong judicial safeguards, limiting access to specific, serious crimes and preventing “fishing expeditions.” The argument that financial secrecy attracts investment is outdated; modern capital is drawn to stability and the rule of law, not to havens for dirty money. Similarly, the burden of disclosing beneficial owners—typically those with a 25 percent or more stake—is a minor inconvenience for legitimate businesses when balanced against the state’s interest to prevent systemic corruption. The true burden lies with the public, who bears the cost of investigating fraud enabled by anonymity.
The fight against corruption in the Philippines has long been an uphill battle because the most powerful tools for hiding wealth—secret bank accounts and anonymous corporate structures—have been legally protected. Repealing the bank secrecy law and mandating beneficial ownership disclosure are targeted, pragmatic, and powerful reforms that strike at the heart of this problem. One unlocks the flow of illicit money, while the other exposes the true beneficiaries of suspicious contracts. Together, they create a powerful environment of transparency and accountability. By dismantling these twin fortresses, the Philippines can shift from a reactive stance to a proactive one, creating a powerful deterrent, recovering stolen assets, and building a future where integrity, not corruption, is the foundation of governance. The path to a more just and transparent nation demands no less.
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Manny Ilao is a former chief financial officer who draws on his experience in finance and familiarity with Philippine banking laws to share informed opinions on good governance.
