By Jomel R. Paguian
THE PHILIPPINES fell three spots to 100th out of 142 countries in the World Justice Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index this year, remaining among the weakest in the region and better only than Myanmar and Cambodia.
Its score dropped to 0.46 on a scale from zero to one, which shows the strongest adherence to the rule of law.
The WJP Index showed that since authoritarian trends pushed the world into a rule of law recession in 2016, the global downturn has affected 78% of countries.
“The world remains gripped by a rule of law recession characterized by executive overreach, curtailing of human rights and justice systems that are failing to meet people’s needs,” WJP co-founder and President William H. Neukom said in a statement. “People around the world are paying the price.”
The Philippines’ rule of law score fell in 2016 and 2017, steadied in the next three years and improved last year. From 2015 to 2022, it ranked 51st, 70th, 88th, 88th, 89th, 91st, 92nd and 97th, respectively.
“The main problem is the huge gap between the rights guaranteed by laws and regulations and what actually happens on the streets and in the countryside,” Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division, said in a e-mailed reply to questions.
“The impunity to abuse rights is nowhere more clear than the lack of accountability for drug war killings, and the fact that those killings are still continuing, albeit at a slightly reduced rate. Senior people in politics, business and society operate above the law and everyone knows it. Rule of law presumes real enforcement, not just talking about it,” he added.
Since 2017, the Philippines has ranked 13th out of 15 countries in East Asia and the Pacific, which has been consistently led by New Zealand.
Weak law enforcement and political instability, aside from corruption, contributed to its worse performance, Marlon M. Villarin, a political science professor from the University of Santo Tomas, said by telephone. “Rampant corruption can somehow be attributed to the erosion of the credibility of our government and the rule of law.”
The WJP Index is based on surveys conducted on more than 149,000 households and 3,400 legal practitioners to measure how the rule of law in each country is experienced and perceived.
The index measured eight factors — constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil and criminal justice.
The Philippines scored the lowest in fundamental rights and criminal justice, both at 120th, two and three spots lower than its 2022 standing.
WJP said year-on-year scores for the two factors declined in 56% of countries.
‘POLITICAL WILL’
Fundamental right scores reflected the status of the rights enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which according to WJP has declined in its 75th year.
“It’s a sobering picture to contemplate as the world marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights later this year,” WJP Executive Director Elizabeth Andersen said in the statement.
Though the Philippines went up to 103rd from 104th last year, it remained at the bottom of the index’s civil justice rating. The country was among the minority of countries whose civil justice scores did not decline.
Mr. Villarin said ex-President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s government had contributed to this year’s index, even as his successor Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has yet to reverse the previous government’s injustices.
“Marcos should end all crimes that put the life and security of journalists and political] critics in danger,” he said. “If these cases are resolved, he can somehow improve the ranking of the country’s rule of law.”
Mr. Villarin said the Philippine government should consider the WJP index in trying to improve the pillars of the justice system.
“President Marcos is serving as a shield for his predecessor and erstwhile political partner Rodrigo Duterte, protecting him from the International Criminal Court and international pressure as part of an ongoing political alliance between the two clans,” Mr. Robertson said.
“All Marcos needs to do is start holding people accountable by having them arrested and tried. This is a question of whether Marcos has the political will to do so,” he added.
Among low- to middle-income countries, the Philippines was No. 16 out of 37, the same spot as last year.
WJP said countries that have strengthened their rule of law most since 2016 were lower middle-income countries Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe and upper middle-income countries Kazakhstan, Moldova and Malaysia.
Nordic countries Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden remained at the top.
Venezuela, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo stayed at the bottom five ranking. — with Norman P. Aquino