Philippines 55th of 167 countries in Democracy Index

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines ranked 55th out of 167 countries in the Democracy Index 2020 released yesterday by London-based think tank the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), making it a “flawed democracy.”

It placed 51st in 2017, 53rd in 2018 and 54th in 2019.

The country recorded an average 6.56, after scoring 9.17 in electoral process and pluralism, 5 in functioning government, 7.78 in political participation, 4.38 in political culture and 6.47 in civil liberties.

The score put the Philippines under the “flawed democracy” category, countries that, according to EIU “have free and fair elections, even if there are problems (such as infringements on media freedom), basic civil liberties are respected.”

The country remained in ninth place in Asia and Australasia while New Zealand topped the regional rankings with a score of 9.25, followed by Australia, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, which were classified as “full democracy.”

Globally, the Democracy Index 2020 was topped by Norway with 9.81, followed by Iceland with 9.37, Sweden 9.26, New Zealand 9.25, Canada 9.24, Finland 9.20 and Denmark 9.15.

The Democracy Index, on a 0 to 10 scale, is based on five categories: electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture and civil liberties.

Meanwhile, Malacañang refuted the rankings, saying that Philippines’ status is far from being classified as a hybrid or authoritarian regime since the study was based on pandemic response.

Chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo also said that government would continue “pursuing measures and implementing policies designed to promote a more vibrant democracy.”

“We will similarly continue to respect and promote the civil liberties of our people as we strive to further develop a democratic political culture and produce a government which efficiently functions to address their needs while encouraging their participation in governance,” Panelo added. — Alexis Romero