Palace says it will exert ‘greater efforts’ to improve PH rule of law

MANILA, Philippines — Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Tuesday said that government will exert greater efforts for the improvement of the rule of law in the country, echoing the stance of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on the matter.

The Philippines was on the bottom half on the ranking of rule law, placing 102nd out of 139 nations, based on a report from the 2021 World Justice Project.

“Well, we stand by what Secretary of Justice Meynard Guevarra said that we are going to exert greater efforts to uphold and promote the rule of law in the country,” Roque said during the Palace briefing.

“Pero sabi nga po ni Secretary Guevarra, from where he stands, except for a few sensational cases, ang crime rate naman po sa bansa ay bumaba. Bukod pa rito, ang gobyerno po ay tinutugunan ‘yung mga paglabag ng karapatang pantao at saka ‘yung mga alleged abuses sa conduct ng campaign against illegal drugs,” he added.

(But, as Secretary Guevarra said, from where he stands, except for a few sensational cases, our crime rate decreased. Aside from this, our government is addressing the human rights violations and alleged abuses in the conduct of the anti-illegal drug campaign.)

Roque was also asked what aspect the government plans to adjust to promote adherence to the rule of law.

Roque answered: “Alam niyo po kasi itong rule of law, limang ano po ‘yan ano, limang tinatawag na pillars. Ang ehekutibo po ay in charge sa dalawa — ito po ‘yung pulis at saka ‘yung kulungan. So, kinakailangan po magsama-sama ‘yung iba’t ibang mga pillars kasama na po ang lipunan dahil kabahagi po bilang criminal justice system ang lipunan.”

(You know, the rule of law has five pillars. The executive is in charge of two — the police and jails. We need to unite with other pillars including society as it is part of the criminal justice system.)

“Pero kinakailangan ang hudikatura, bilisan ang proseso at kinakailangan din na ang civil society magmatyag pa rin at talagang gamitin ang proseso para lahat ng lalabag ay maparusahan po kung kinakailangan,” he went on.

(But, we need our judiciary to hasten the process, and we need our civil society to keep watch and use our process so that all violators will be punished if necessary.)

Last week, the Philippine National Police said that it will take the country’s low performance on the rule of law as a challenge to improve peace and order.

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