Philippines ranks 91st out of 128 countries in 2020 rule of law index —World Justice Project

The Philippines ranked 91st out of 128 countries in an international organization's rule of law index for 2020.

In a list topped by Denmark, Norway and Finland, the Philippines stood near the bottom end next to the Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan, according to the World Justice Project (WJP).

The Democratic Republic of Congo, Cambodia, and Venezuela got the lowest overall scores.

The WJP reported the Philippines' overall score as 0.47, the same score as last year, on eight factors including constraints on government powers and civil and criminal justice.

The country ranked 13th out of 15 in the East Asia and Pacific region, followed by Myanmar and Cambodia.

The WJP said the Philippines was one of the countries that saw the biggest declines in constraints on government powers since 2015. This factor, in which the Philippines ranked 75th of 128, measures constitutional, institutional, and non-governmental checks on the government's power, such as a free and independent press.

The other factors are absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice.

The Philippines was among the lowest-ranking countries in the East Asia and Pacific region in most of the factors. It placed 8th out of 15th in the open government factor, which measures how much the government shares information, among others.

In the order and security factor, the country placed 15th out of 15 in the region,  and 97th out of 128 globally -- moving up 16 spots in the worldwide ranking compared to last year.

This factor measures "how well a society ensures the security of persons and property," the WJP said.

The East Asia and Pacific region is composed of New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong SAR, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Cambodia, arranged in descending rank.

The WJP said this year's rule of law index "shows that more countries declined than improved in overall rule of law performance for a third year in a row, continuing a negative slide toward weakening and stagnating rule of law around the world."

The WJP said it calculated the scores using data they collected in each country through a "general population poll" conducted by local polling companies using a representative sample of 1,000 respondents per country, and a questionnaire answered by in-country practitioners and academics with expertise in civil and commercial law, criminal justice, labor law, and public health.

It said it surveyed more than 130,000 households and 4,000 legal practitioners and experts. —LDF, GMA News