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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider Philippine justice system below-par in region, globally—World Bank

Philippine justice system below-par in region, globally—World Bank

Published Dec 24, 2024 02:04 am

The Philippines' justice system lags behind not only in the region but also globally in terms of access, efficiency as well as quality, according to data aggregated by the World Bank.

The Washington-based multilateral lender's Prosperity Data360 Justice Country Snapshots for the Philippines published on Dec. 23 showed that in the area of access to justice, the country scored one out of four in Freedom House's Freedom in the World report in guaranteeing equal treatment of various population segments under laws, judicial policies and practices.

The Philippines' Freedom in the World score was below both the global and regional averages of 1.82 and 2.06, respectively.

The World Bank also cited that the Philippines ranked 42nd among 176 countries in the human rights and rule of law sub-indicator of The Fund for Peace's Fragile States Index last year.

In the area of efficiency, the Philippines scored negative 0.5 out of a best possible score of four in countries where there are transparent laws with predictable enforcement, based on the Varieties of Democracy Project's (V-Dem) The Liberal Democracy Index.

The Philippines' score in transparency and predictability of laws and their enforcement was also below the global and regional averages—both in positive territory—of 0.58 and 0.42, respectively.

Also, the World Bank noted that the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index ranked the Philippines 109th out of 141 nations in the sub-indicator reflecting efficiency of the legal framework in settling disputes back in 2019.

In terms of the justice system's quality, the Freedom in the World report scored the Philippines two out of four in having an independent judiciary, and a lower one out of four in its assessment of due process prevailing in civil and criminal matters.

The Philippines' score in providing due process was lower than the global and regional averages of 1.92 and 2.22, respectively.

In the judicial branch's independence, the Philippines' score was also lower than the global and regional averages of 2.09 and 2.41, respectively.

In WEF's Global Competitiveness Index, the Philippines ranked 110 among 141 countries in the judicial independence sub-indicator in 2019, the World Bank noted.

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