Although we are only getting started, we aim to progressively extend our coverage of countries around the world.
The Philippines is a country with plenty of resources and full of potential.
Environmental policy
In 2021, the Philippines received the Future Policy Special Award from the World Future Council
for its groundbreaking legislation to curb the use of toxic lead and lead compounds in industrial paints.
With the Chemical Control Order for Lead and Lead Compounds (CCO),
the Philippines became the first Southeast Asian country to successfully implement legislation towards lead-safe paint.
The policy’s objective is to increase awareness of the toxicity of lead exposure and to provide safer alternatives
to protect the health of the population and the environment.
It comprises a roadmap with clear definitions, phase-out plans, and decisive instruments with special attention to children.
The CCO combines a collaborative top-down and bottom-up strategy with successful implementation.
While globally only a few countries have enacted comprehensive bans on the use of lead additives in all paints,
the Philippines demonstrate that it is entirely possible to restrict the use of lead in all paints to the maximum limit of 90 ppm,
including in industrial paints, which generally have lead concentrations that are up to 10 times higher.
China in Philippine economy
Private Chinese investors as well as the Chinese government own large swathes of the Philippines economy.
For example, the Philippine maritime transportation giant 2Go is owned by the Chinese Communist Party.
It is a major challenge for the Philippines' democratic future and economic independence
to reduce the share of its economy owned by Chinese interests.
Philippines and Chinese expansionism
Chinese expansionism is affecting all the countries neighbouring the South China Sea,
especially since China claims most of the sea with its so called nine-dash line.
Thus confrontations between Chinese interests and the Philippines are frequent.
See the article below for more details.
In 2023, Australia held joint military drills in with the Philippines in the South China Sea.
Approximately 1,200 Australian soldiers and 560 Filipino marines took part in military exercises that involved storming a beach.
The People's Republic of China has territorial disputes with most of its neighbors.
The PRC government has a long term policy to gain control over territories it considers its own.
Historical trend
The Philippines has a chequered history, with democratic ups and downs.
During the years 1965~1886, the Philippines was autocratically ruled by Ferdinand Marcos, officially the 10th President of the Philippines.
His rule saw martial law, human rights abuses and widespread corruption.
Marcos' reign was put to an end
after the contested 1986 presidential elections
and by the subsequent People Power Revolution.
Corazon Aquino was proclaimed president of the Philippines.
She immediately issued a proclamation for a new constitution to be drafted.
The Constitution of the Philippines was formally adopted by plebiscite in 1987.
Under Corazon Aquino's presidency (1986 ~ 1992), progress was made in revitalizing democratic institutions and respect for civil liberties.
However there were ten coup attempts during her presidency. [2] [3]
President Fidel Ramos (1992 ~ 1998) revived the practice of the death penalty, [4]
which was abolished again in 2006.
Ramos also tried to amend the constitution so that he could run for a second term. [5]
The move was met with large-scale protests and Ramos declared he would not seek re-election.
The constitution limits presidents to a single 6-year term.
Joseph Estrada did not finish his term as he was forced to resign in 2001 by popular pressure,
so his vice president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo finished his term before being elected for her own full 6-year term.
A few presidents were tempted to stay longer in power and tried to arrange for a constitutional amendment
so that they could run for a second term.
|
Presidents of the 5th Republic of the Philippines [1] |
| 11 |
1986 ~ 1992 |
Corazon Aquino |
| 12 |
1992 ~ 1998 |
Fidel V. Ramos |
| 13 |
1998 ~ 2001 |
Joseph Estrada |
| 14 |
2001 ~ 2010 |
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo |
| 15 |
2010 ~ 2016 |
Benigno Aquino III |
| 16 |
2016 ~ 2022 |
Rodrigo Duterte |
| 17 |
2022 ~ present |
Bongbong Marcos |
| Years |
Freedom House's rating |
| 1973 ~ 1986 |
Partly Free |
| 1987 ~ 1989 |
Free |
| 1990 ~ 1995 |
Partly Free |
| 1996 ~ 2004 |
Free |
| 2005 ~ 2022 |
Partly Free |
The 1987 constitution was adopted by plebiscite on February 2nd,
a date which is now celebrated as Constitution day.
Freedom of the press
One of the most important challenges to Philippine democracy is the freedom of the press.
Many reporters (like Maria Ressa) suffer or have suffered harassment, many even having been killed.
Filipino journalist and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
6.73
Full democracyFlawed democracyHybrid regimeAuthoritarian regime
41.84
GoodSatisfactoryProblematicDifficultVery Serious
Although the Philippines transitioned from authoritarian rule in 1986, the rule of law and application of justice are haphazard and heavily favor political and economic elites. Long-term violent insurgencies have continued for decades, though their threat to the state has diminished in recent years. Impunity remains the norm for violent crimes against activists and journalists, and President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs since 2016 has led to thousands of extrajudicial killings.
Internet freedom in the Philippines remained under threat during the coverage period. Disinformation proliferated during the May 2022 general election, which saw the landslide victories of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos—who whose rule of the country was marked by corruption and human rights abuses, as president, and Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of outgoing president Rodrigo Duterte, as vice president. Red-tagging—a form of harassment whereby targets are accused of having links with local communist groups—physical assaults, and politicized lawsuits against government critics continued, as did technical attacks against news outlets and civil society groups.
The Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) is a non-profit, national human rights organization in the Philippines, Manila.
The concept and practice of human rights within the Philippines is defined by Article III of the Philippine Constitution,
as well as the United Nations' International Bill of Human Rights, to which the Philippines is a signatory.
The Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights) is a non-profit, national human rights organization in the Philippines, Manila.
The Campaign for Human Rights in the Philippines (CHRP) is a small but highly active human rights watchdog based in the United Kingdom.
It has the backing of the British T.U.C, Amnesty International,
and several educational institutions including a very close relationship with the School of Oriental and African Studies.
The Commission on Human Rights is an independent constitutional office created under the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines,
with the primary function of investigating all forms of human rights violations involving civil and political rights in the Philippines.
After Marcos was deposed in 1986,
the newly drafted 1987 Constitution prohibited the death penalty
but allowed Congress to reinstate it "hereafter" for "heinous crimes",
making the Philippines the first Asian country to abolish capital punishment.
The capital punishment has been reinstated several times thereafter.