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 […]...

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