Phl vows to improve protection of civil, political rights

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines vowed yesterday to improve its standing in terms of protection of civil and political rights.

This after the Washington-based non-government organization Freedom House rated the Philippines “partly free.”

“We have to improve our standing when it comes to civil and political rights. We want everyone to take full advantage of the rights accorded to them under the Constitution,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigal Valte said over state-run radio dzRB.

Valte noted that the Philippines stood out among its fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nations members in political rights and civil liberties.

In its Freedom in the World 2014 report, Freedom House rated the Philippines one of 59 “partly free” countries.

In their 2014 Index of World Economic Freedom, the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal upgraded the Philippines to 89th place from the previous 97th spot out of 178 countries.