The Economist: PH with a ‘flawed democracy’

It added, “Mr. Duterte has managed to make an already bad situation even worse for the media in the Philippines.” (Pixabay photo)

The Philippines is a country with a ‘flawed democracy’ with a ‘partly free’ press, according to report published in a magazine based in the United States on Wednesday, January 31.

According to an article by ABS-CBN, The Economist published a report on the importance of speech for advancing and strengthening democracy and examines the constraints on exercising freedom of expression around the world.

“The President, Rodrigo Duterte, has castigated journalists and even issued death threats. The country has a history of repression of the media and violence against journalists,” the report read.

“Mr. Duterte has managed to make an already bad situation even worse for the media in the Philippines,” it added.

The Philippines, a democratic country, scored a 7 out of 10 this 2017. The country was under the “partly free” classification, ranking 49 along with Bangladesh, South Korea, and India.

Countries Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Sweden, and the US scored 10 in this category, classified as “fully free.”

On another category called “flawed democracies,” the Philippines scored 6.71 points ranking 51 among 67 countries, together with South Korea, US, Sri Lanka, and Singapore.

In 2016, the Philippines got a 6.94, and a 6.84 back in 2015 – a gradually increasing pattern significantly observed. The magazine report further said that there was a ‘consolidation of power’ in countries like Japan and China, including the Philippines.

“The indefinite declaration of martial law in the southern state of Mindanao in the Philippines, and the rule of country’s strongman leader, Rodrigo Duterte, adversely affected the quality of democracy in the Philippines,” the magazine wrote.

Furthermore, according to The Economist, “Mr. Duterte has led the way among the many Asian countries that are infringing democratic values.”

Norway topped the list with a score of 9.87.