WASHINGTON – The Philippines is one of the least peaceful countries in the world, a report by the Institute for Economics and Peace, an international think tank, said.
The institutes 2010 Global Peace Index (GPI) ranked the Philippines in 130th place among 149 countries based on a spectrum of political, cultural and economic indicators from political stability to violent crime and respect for human rights.
New Zealand was ranked the nation most at peace for the second successive year with a score of 1.188 and Iraq remained stuck at the bottom of the index with a score of 3.406. China was in 80th place and the United States in 85th spot.
At its most basic, the GPI simply defines peace as an absence of violence.
The Philippines dropped precipitously in the annual rankings to 130th place with a score of 2.574. Previously it was in 114th place with a score of 2.327.
The country’s slide echoes rises in its indicators of internal conflict and crime, the GPI report said.
It said the security situation in the Philippines worsened in 2009, particularly in Sulu where fighting between the Abu Sayyaf Group and the government claimed the lives of 163 people, nearly double the 82 killed the previous year.
Peace talks between the government and the Communist Party of the Philippines in Norway were postponed and clashes between guerrillas and government troops continued unabated, it said.
Violent crime is high in many districts and armed guards are routinely deployed to defend private property.
Kidnap-for-ransom is also a high risk, especially among the ethnic Chinese community, perceived as wealthy and willing to pay a ransom to secure the release of an abducted relative, the report said.
In 2009 perceptions of criminality in Philippine society rose to a score of four, which the report defined as high levels of distrust in other citizens.
The homicide rate also soared with the proportion of the population in jail rising to a score of three, fairly high by regional standards.
Only Myanmar in 132nd position was less peaceful than the Philippines among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Laos and Malaysia experienced improvements in their GPI scores from last year with greater levels of respect for human rights and increased political stability contributing factors in both countries.