Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano lamented that the Philippines’ image in the global scene is suffering because the government’s investigation on corruption issues are being handled “like a circus.”

Cayetano said he is worried that the spectacle regarding the multi-billion scandal on anomalous flood control projects is embarrassing millions of Filipinos who live and work overseas.

“As a minority leader, my main concern now is how the world sees us,” Cayetano said in a recent interview.

“We have more than 10 million Filipinos abroad, and so many traveling every day. But the way we're doing it, like it’s an everyday circus, greatly affects our image as a country,” he said.

Cayetano pointed out the government’s current approach to addressing corruption has become unsustainable and overly theatrical.

“The manner in which the government wants to address the massive corruption is not sustainable. We really need major reforms, real changes, and that the perpetrators go to jail,”he stressed.

The minority leader further lamented that the problem has gone beyond politics and is now shaping how the world perceives Filipinos as a people.

“Filipinos who travel are being mocked, and people are saying we’re corrupt,” he noted.

“If you count everyone involved, maybe it’s not even 10,000 people. But because of the way this is being handled, all 110 million Filipinos are being judged,” he said.

Cayetano said government institutions should conduct the investigations with fairness and discipline to restore respect for the rule of law.

“We have to stop being distracted and start being decisive,” he emphasized.