EDITORIAL - Asia’s most violent

In case it has slipped anyone’s attention, the Philippines is becoming Southeast Asia’s most violent country. Vietnam has moved on from its wartime past and is busy with economic development. So is Cambodia, which is focusing on tourism and other economic activities after the Khmer Rouge’s genocide. Timor Leste has the same focus.

Indonesia has recovered from the race riots under Suharto and its resort island of Bali has not seen a repeat of the deadly nightclub bombings a decade ago. Myanmar is also opening up, reining in deadly human rights violations of the former military junta, although the recent death of a journalist marred the peace. Thailand has a crime problem, but it’s no worse than in the Philippines.

Compared with its neighbors, the Philippines has the highest number of political killings, murders of journalists, and deaths resulting from ordinary crimes such as robberies and drug deals. The country also has the worst kidnapping problem, and deadly violence attributed to insurgencies.

On top of these problems, the country has the worst terrorism problem in the region. This is according to the Global Peace Index 2014, which ranked the Philippines ninth – up from last year’s 10th – among 162 countries affected by terrorism.

The index, based on the total number of terrorist incidents, fatalities, injuries and property damage, placed the Philippines ahead of Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Timor Leste and Vietnam. The worst five in the world were Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria.

The index, which includes armed attacks by the communist New People’s Army and the Abu Sayyaf, counted 499 terrorist incidents in the Philippines between 2012 and 2013, up from 125 in 2011, with the number of fatalities also increasing from 120 to 292.

Violence has retarded development, marred elections, and discouraged investments in the Philippines. The terrorist incidents are on top of violent crimes that dampen tourism and economic activities. Safety concerns are among the factors that hold back national competitiveness. The country’s ranking in the latest Global Peace Index shows how much the country has fallen behind its neighbors in the area of public safety.