Filipinos continue to rank the soaring cost of everyday goods as the problem the Marcos government must tackle first, but a sharpening public focus on dishonesty in office marked the second quarter of 2026, based on OCTA Research’s newest Tugon ng Masa (TNM) poll made public Tuesday.
When asked which issue demands the administration’s immediate attention, 37 percent pointed to runaway prices. Raising pay levels trailed closely at 34 percent, and rooting out graft and corruption sat just behind at 32 percent—now the third-ranked national worry. Affordable food registered fourth at 24 percent, with free quality education completing the leading five at 22 percent.
The corruption figure tells the sharper story. It climbed six points from the 26 percent recorded in March 2026, even as anxiety over inflation slid eight points from its earlier 45 percent. Worry about wages held steady between the two rounds. Notably, the share of Filipinos citing poverty reduction sank to an all-time low of 12 percent.
Priorities split along class lines. Respondents in Class ABC named corruption their foremost concern at 42 percent, edging out inflation at 41 percent. Class D respondents were evenly torn between rising prices and better wages, each drawing 36 percent. For Class E, affordable food led at 42 percent, with inflation close behind at 40 percent.
Personal worries followed a different pattern. Guarding one’s health and steering clear of sickness stayed the leading private concern nationwide at 65 percent. Securing daily meals came next at 47 percent, then building savings and landing a well-paying livelihood, tied at 41 percent, with schooling for oneself or one’s children at 38 percent.
Health topped the personal list across every economic bracket, though the emphasis shifted by group. Wealthier Class ABC respondents leaned harder toward staying well at 70 percent and setting aside savings at 48 percent. Those in Class E weighed daily food more heavily at 58 percent and prioritized their children’s education at 44 percent.
OCTA read the numbers as a sign that living costs still steer public priorities despite easing from the March high, with the rising alarm over corruption pointing to accountability becoming a heavier expectation of government.
The pollster drew its conclusions from face-to-face interviews with 1,200 probability respondents, all aged 18 and older, conducted July 4 to 11, 2026. Results carry a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level, widening to plus or minus 6 points for regional readings in Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao.
