When Ego Floods the Nation: A Forensic Look at Corruption

Ghost projects, padded contracts, and billions lost — the Philippine flood-control scandal has become a case study in systemic corruption. But beyond the headlines lies a deeper question: why do certain personalities keep rising to the top, and why does the system seem to reward them?

In this episode of The Forensic Lens Podcast, I explore corruption through the lens of forensic behavioral science and evolutionary psychology. From the dark triad of psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism to the cultural values that both resist and enable graft, I examine how governance becomes an “ecology” that selects for opportunists — and what we can do to change it.

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