The Philippines slipped to 111th place among 180 countries in the 2017 report of the Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International.
Previously, the country ranked 101st out of 176 nations in 2016, and 95th of 168 countries in 2015.
The country’s latest index score is 34. Last year it was 35.
The index, which ranks countries and territories by their perceived levels of public-sector corruption according to experts and business people, uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
“This year the index found that more than two-thirds of countries score below 50, with an average score of 43,” a statement by Transparency International on their analysis of results read.
The country also placed at the bottom end of the spectrum for the Asia-Pacific region, placing 21st out of 31 countries.
This year New Zealand and Denmark rank highest with scores of 89 and 88, respectively, while Syria, South Sudan and Somalia rank lowest with scores of 14, 12 and 9, respectively.
Western Europe was named as the best-performing region with an average score of 66, while Sub-Saharan Africa (average score 32), Eastern Europe and Central Asia (average score 34) were the worst- performing regions.
Analysis from Transparency International also showed that the countries with the least protection for mass media and non-governmental organizations also tend to have the worst rates of corruption.
“Every week at least one journalist is killed in a country that is highly corrupt,” it said.
The analysis also incorporated data from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which showed that more than nine out of 10 journalists were killed in countries that score 45 or less on the index.
In their regional analysis for countries in Asia Pacific, the group concluded that corruption in many countries is still strong, and even listed Philippines as among the “worst regional offenders” for scoring “high for corruption” and having “fewer press freedoms and higher number of journalist deaths.”
“Often, when individuals dare to challenge the status quo, they suffer the consequences,” it said, adding that some journalists, activists, opposition leaders and even staff of law enforcement or watchdog agencies are threatened or even murdered.
Data from CPJ showed that a total of 79 journalists were killed from 1992 and 2018.
Transparency International also called on the global community to take action to curb corruption. The group suggested the following steps: governments and businesses must do more to encourage free speech, independent media, political dissent and an open and engaged civil society; governments should also minimize media regulations and ensure that journalists can work without fear of repression or violence; civil society and governments should promote laws that focus on access to information; activists and governments should take advantage of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to advocate and push for reforms at the national and international level and that governments and businesses should disclose relevant public interest information, including budgets, company ownership, public procurements and political party finances in data formats.
1 comment
CHANGE HAS COME