MANILA, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Inflation and corruption are the top concerns for Filipinos, according to a nationwide survey by an independent polling firm released on Monday.
In a survey of 1,200 adults conducted in September, pollster Pulse Asia Research Inc. said that 54 percent expressed concern about inflation and 51 percent about corruption.
"Amidst the ongoing congressional investigations into budget insertions and ghost infrastructure projects, 51 percent of Filipino adults cite the need to fight graft and corruption in government as a national concern that the incumbent administration needs to address immediately," the survey said.
It mentioned that this overall level of concern is essentially the same as that recorded on the issue of inflation (54 percent) -- "an issue that has consistently been the leading urgent national concern of adults in the country."
In distant third place is increasing the pay of workers, which is followed by a set of issues that includes fighting criminality, reducing poverty, fighting the widespread sale and use of illegal drugs, and creating more jobs.
In September, massive protests were held in Manila and other major cities across the Philippines, denouncing widespread corruption involving high-ranking officials overseeing the government's flood control and related projects.
Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos has described the alleged scale of corruption as "horrible." ■