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Enforcement of the rule of law slipped for the fifth straight year worldwide, but the Philippines was one of the few states that improved its score and ranking—from 102nd last year to 97th out of 140 countries, according to the 2022 report of the international nonprofit World Justice Project (WJP).
The country remained among the worst performers in East Asia and the Pacific, ranking 13th of 15 states, but its overall performance rose by 0.01 point in this year’s WJP Rule of Law Index, scoring 0.47 out of a perfect 1.0, the report showed.
On Thursday, the Philippine National Police took credit for the country’s better showing on the index, as it “humbly” welcomed its improved performance in order and security.
The higher score, according to the PNP, was partly due to “its own initiatives at reforming police systems and procedures to cope with the ever-changing demand for better police service to the communities.”
‘Milestone for country’
In a statement, PNP chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. thanked all police officers who “have worked diligently to achieve this milestone for our country.”
This was the first time since 2015 that the country’s score in the rule of law index improved, after consistent drops over the past six years, from 2016 to 2021.
When the WJP report was first published in 2015, the Philippines had an overall score of 0.53, ranking 51st out of 102 countries.
In 2016, it dropped to 70th place out of 113 countries with a score of 0.51, coinciding with the start of the bloody drug war waged by the previous Duterte administration.
‘Fair statement’
As the index expanded to include more states, the country’s ranking started to fall even as its score hovered between 0.46 and 0.47.
It placed 88th in the 2017-2018 report, 89th in 2019, 91st in 2020 and 102nd in 2021.
The PNP said the WJP report was “a fair statement and objective acknowledgment of the initiatives of the national institution in upholding the rule of law in its enforcement, prosecution, judiciary, corrections and community pillars of the criminal justice system.”
WJP measured these factors: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, and civil and criminal justice.
Globally, Denmark was the top-ranked country in the rule of law index, followed by fellow Nordic welfare states Norway, Finland and Sweden.
The lowest scorers were Venezuela, Cambodia and Afghanistan.
Rise of authoritarianism
Rule of law declined globally for the fifth year in a row, according to WJP, as it noted a rise in authoritarianism in the majority of countries.
Two-thirds of the countries had their rule of law index drop for two consecutive years, with scores in seven of the eight factors falling, except for order and security, but only marginally.
“We are emerging from the pandemic, but the global rule of law recession continues,” said Elizabeth Andersen, executive director of the WJP.
“At its heart, rule of law is about fairness—that is, accountability, equal rights and justice for all. And a less fair world is bound to be a more volatile one,” she added.
In its report on the Philippines, the WJP noted “an improvement in the factor measuring order and security,” which considers if crime is effectively controlled, civil conflict is limited and people do not resort to violence to redress personal grievances.
Last year, the WJP stressed “a deterioration in the factor measuring order and security” in the Philippines.
The country’s order and security score stood at 0.66, an improvement from last year’s 0.63, but lower than either the global average of 0.72 or the regional average of 0.79.
Better than Myanmar
In terms of order and security in the region, the Philippines ranked 14th out of 15 countries, only faring better than Myanmar, which is in the middle of a civil war.
Singapore ranked first overall in the region, followed by New Zealand and Australia. The region’s lowest scorers, after the Philippines, were Myanmar and Cambodia.
The index is based on more than 150,000 household surveys and 3,600 legal practitioner and expert surveys to measure how the rule of law is experienced and perceived worldwide.
READ: PH falls further in rule of law index