Philippines jumps to 97 on Rule of Law index as region backslides
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines saw its standing on the rule of law index has improve dfive ranks to 97 from 102, going against the trend where the rule of law declined in 61% or 85 out of the 140 countries.
The World Justice Project (WJP) on Wednesday released its 2022 Rule of Law index, which noted the Philippines’ improvement in "order and security."
Manila also ranked 13th out of the 15 countries in East Asia and the Pacific, where researchers noted the rule of law has either been "stagnant or backsliding" alongside issues like the transition of leaders and corruption in government.
The WJP surveyed 154,000 households as well as over 3,600 legal practitioners and legal experts from February to June this year to measure the rule of law in their respective countries according to factors like check and balance systems within government systems.
This is how the Philippines ranked in each factor:
Income rank refers to the 38 countries identified by the WJP as "lower-middle income," where the Philippines ranked 16th out of 38. Countries included in the list are Algeria, Cambodia, Haiti, Iran, Kenya, Morocco, Myanmar, Ukraine, and Vietnam.
Rule of law ‘recession’
The WJP also noted the rule of law has declined globally for the fifth straight year with 61% of the 140 countries seeing their index scores decrease. They said “Civil Justice” scores went down because of “continued delays, weak enforcement, and discrimination in the justice system.”
Meanwhile, “fundamental rights” scores of two-thirds of countries also dwindled, as countries were found to be less effective in promoting equal treatment.
“Constraints on government powers,” which also takes into account the involvement of judiciary, legislature, and media, also waned in 58% of the surveyed countries.
“Authoritarian trends that predate the pandemic continue to erode the rule of law. Checks on executive power are weakening and respect for human rights is falling,” WJP Executive Director Elizabeth Andersen said, adding that around 4.4 billion individuals reside in countries where rule of law is weaker.
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'Alarming trends'
Meanwhile, the WJP also raised "alarming trends" in promoting fundamental rights of individuals around the world after the core freedoms declined from 2015 to 2021.
This includes the unfair treatment of political dissidents and the media, who the group noted have been the receiving end of "unreasonable searches, detentions, or threats, and abusive treatments." WJP said at least 66% of the countries they surveyed have logged declining scores for its subfactor called "right to life and security" since 2015.
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Meanwhile, 81% of surveyed countries also measured lower scores in "freedom of opinion and expression" and 85% saw a downturn in their "freedom of assembly and association" scores.
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Back home, safety and protection of Filipino journalists are again under scrutiny following the death of broadcaster and staunch government critic Percy Lapid. While police have made efforts to check up on the welfare of journalists in the country, unannounced police visits have raised concerns on security and the right to privacy
There have also been concerns on how the state treats freedom of expression, particularly how police would treat protesters and how some cities would bar rallies and assemblies.
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