The Philippines’ corruption crisis continues to unfold, with more whistleblowers implicating lawmakers and even officials in the Office of the President. To assuage public outrage, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has reported the filing of charges against those involved in infrastructure corruption. He also called for bolder political reforms by urging Congress to pass a law against political dynasties.

Corruption has dominated local news coverage since last year, when an impeachment case was filed against Vice President Sara Duterte over her alleged wanton misuse of public funds. A bigger corruption scandal exploded this year after no less than President Marcos blamed substandard and nonexistent projects for the intense flooding in the country.

Here’s an overview of the popular corruption-related keywords and acronyms used in news reports and social media, which may need further explanation for non-Filipinos and those unfamiliar with the context of the raging political crisis.

“Allocables” are not part of the budget document but refer to the amount of funds for infrastructure projects that each member of the House of Representatives and the Senate can access from the national budget for their respective districts or constituencies. An investigative report named the former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who is the first cousin of the president, and the president’s son Sandro Marcos, for grabbing the biggest “allocables” over the past three years.

“Budget insertion” should be differentiated from amendments introduced by lawmakers during plenary sessions. The latter is done openly and in a transparent manner during budget deliberations, while the former is quietly and even secretly facilitated by the Congress leadership for........

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