Media: Freedom of the press is legally protected in the Philippines; however, Freedom House 2011 describes the Philippines' press environment as only 'partly free' due to an increase in violence against journalists. Assaults, arrests, lawsuits and censorship against journalists in the Philippines pose a serious threat to the freedom of the press. Freedom House 2011 further reports that the Philippines has become the world's most dangerous place for journalists, after 29 journalists were killed in a single incident in November 2009. Most of the journalists who have been killed or threatened were working on exposing corruption, or writing critically about the government, police or the army. An example of this, according to a June 2010 article from The New York Times, is that two radio broadcasters were killed within 24 hours. Both were known for searing commentaries on sensitive issues such as corruption and illegal logging. In recent years, suing a journalist for libel has been another way for people to set obstacles for the press. Libel is punishable by prison or large fines. Further, according to Global Integrity 2010, corruption in the media is also pervasive. For example, a reporter can usually receive 'goodwill money', between USD 23 to USD 46, for doing an interview with local politicians. If a politician is satisfied with the published result, the reporter can expect a bonus of up to USD 116. According to Global Integrity 2010, many journalists do not receive salaries on a regular basis, which is a reason for why it is not only common but also openly accepted to sell news. Reporters Without Borders 2011-2012 ranks the Philippines 140th out of 179countries, while Freedom House 2010's Freedom of the Press 2011 ranks the country 97th out of 196 countries and describes the its media environment as 'partly free'.

Civil Society: In the Philippines citizens have a constitutional right to association and assembly and thus to form and participate in civil society organisations (CSOs). According to the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010, CSOs in the Philippines are very active, and the number of CSOs is estimated to be around 116,000. A variety of NGOs exist, from religious groups to poverty alleviation groups etc. NGOs working with anti-corruption conduct joint projects to monitor government activities. According to a 2008 news article by ABS-CBN News, the Catholic Church was very vocal in criticising the Arroyo government for corruption and advocated via the Bishop-Businessmen Conference for a new government to bring down the level of corruption. According to Global Integrity 2007, several anti-corruption CSOs have dual character; they work outside the state advocating reforms while, at the same time, being part of state institutions (for instance, legislators, government executives, local government officials) working within the system to advance the cause of good governance. However, the Bertelsmann Foundation 2010 reports that CSOs do not have much influence over policy-making processes. Even though consultations are often being conducted, their recommendations are not always being taken into consideration. Kidnapping, arrest and extra-judicial killing of government opponents and CSO activists has been a serious problem in recent years, and CSO work continued to be somewhat risky in 2008, as reported by Global Integrity 2008.

Transparency International Philippines: Transparency International Philippines is active in raising public awareness concerning corruption. On its website, it provides updates about anti-corruption activities in the Philippines and internationally.

Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ): An independent, non-profit media agency which was founded in 1989 by nine journalists. The PCIJ publishes articles and books on malfeasance, presidential graft, irregular bidding in local governments, irregularities within the judicial system and more.

Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN): The TAN has launched websites to supply public information as well as expose corruption. The network's members come from academia, the private sector and civil society groups with an interest in anti-corruption and good governance, including the research network which conducts quarterly surveys, Social Weather Stations, Transparency International Philippines and Procurement Watch Inc.

Public Service Labor Independent Confederation (PSLINK): The PSLINK is a confederation of public sector unions of Philippine government employees from different national government agencies, state universities and colleges, local government units, government-financial institutions, health, teachers and special sectors. One of its main causes is to fight corruption and protect whistleblowers. The PSLINK has a small fund to help whistleblowers financially in cases where they have lost their job because of reporting their superior's corrupt behaviour.

Makati Business Club (MBC): Originally established in 1981 as the Forum for Constructive Ideas, MBC is an influential forum of the Philippines' largest companies. MBC seeks to address public policy issues that go beyond business, including topics such as governance, politics and media control. MBC is also behind the private sector initiative Coalition on Corruption (CAC) that monitors procurement activities such as pork-barrel monitoring, Internal Revenue Allotment monitoring, textbook procurement, corruption diagnostics, etc. In response to criticism that the Ombudsman mostly goes after so called 'small fish', CAC and MBC introduced a project called 'Catching the Big Fish' to build up an anti-corruption fund in April 2008 that targets corruption among high-level politicians and other major players. In this connection, the MBC asked for the resignation of former President Arroyo's advisor, Romulo Neri, for his role in a corruption scandal involving kickbacks in a government deal with the Chinese company ZTE, which also implicated former President Arroyo.

Transparent Accountable Governance (TAG): The TAG is a coalition of private sector organisations, civil society organisations and government institutions. The project attempts to gather information about corruption in Philippine society and provides investigative reports on corruption cases and anti-corruption initiatives. The project is funded mainly by the Asia Foundation and USAID.