The Philippines never had leadership that was completely determined to stamp out corruption.
In 1972, the Philippine GDP was on par with countries like Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore. In that year, General Park Chung Hee of Korea just managed to take control of a country suffering from corruption and mismanagement. He instituted strict export policies and was ruthless in only supporting local companies that hit their export quotas. In fact, one of the first things General Park did after assuming power was to persecute South Korean business leaders for profiting from the corruption in the South Korean government leading to 24 arrests of some of the biggest names in business.
In that same year, President Marcos of the Philippines also took control of the government having placed the country under martial law. In contrast to Park, he confiscated many businesses and institutions by force and handed them over to his close friends and family without regard for ability and fostered a government kleptocracy.
Unlike the previous two countries, Singapore's leadership did not arise from a coup but Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew held a strong grip on the country. Despite what many consider to have been an authoritarian leadership, businesses in Singapore flourished under his stewardship due to his strict policies on capital and corruption despite being located in a country with, at the time, an even lower GDP than the Philippines, Korea, and Malaysia.
Even Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir, with his middling industrial policies, still managed to foster an economy that eventually outgrew other SE Asian economies through his attempts at investing in local companies he thought were promising as opposed to simply appropriating businesses and giving them to people he liked.
China today, has one of the strongest leaders it's ever seen since the time of Mao in the form of President Xi Jinping. One of the first things he did when he assumed office? He prosecuted many of the top corrupt individuals in government, most of whom were previously considered to be untouchable like ex-security chief, Zhou Yongkang.
There hasn't been leadership since President Marcos strong enough to make a determined stand to fight corruption through all levels of the Philippine government. Marcos was probably the only leader powerful enough to have been able to make sweeping changes in the entrenched establishment but he squandered his opportunity away. As evidenced by other Asian neighbors, oftentimes, it only takes one strong leader to take the initiative and make a lasting change. The Philippines just has to find the right one.
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