Duterte admin committed to respecting citizens’ voices

MANILA – The Duterte administration is committed to continue respecting the voices of all citizens, a Palace official said Wednesday after findings by a London-based think tank showed the Philippines ranking 55 out of 167 countries in its democracy index for 2020.

In a statement, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo pointed out that “endless criticisms from political opposition” as well as “government’s detractors” are proof that the administration respects democracy.

“The Duterte Administration is committed to continue respecting the voices of all citizens, as evidenced by the endless criticisms from the political opposition, the left, as well as the government’s detractors, who have unimpeded access to both local and international press,” he said.

Results from the 2020 democracy index of Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) showed that the Philippines went down to the 55th place from 54th in 2019 with a score of 6.56 from 2019’s 6.64.

It also said the Philippines continued to be among those described as “flawed democracies” or those that “have free and fair elections, even if there are problems (such as infringements on media freedom), basic civil liberties are respected.”

The think tank’s findings also showed decreases in civil liberties at 6.47 against 7.06 in 2019 and functioning of government to now at a flat 5.00 from 5.38.

But Panelo maintained that the administration respects civil liberties and even encourages people to participate in governance.

“We will similarly continue to respect and promote the civil liberties of our people as we strive to further develop a democratic political culture and produce a government which efficiently functions to address their needs while encouraging their participation in governance,” he added.

Panelo also defended the administration’s strict pandemic-related lockdowns, which the findings cited as a reason for the country’s deterioration in the democracy index.

“The President, with public health as his priority, opted to limit the people’s mobilization as this would slow down the spread of the Covid-19 virus – which strategy was commended by the World Health Organization,” he said.

He said the lockdowns do not mean that the administration will stop pursuing measures and implementing policies designed to promote a more vibrant democracy.

“Our status is far from being classified as a hybrid or authoritarian regime as the study is primarily based on how governments have responded to the present pandemic,” he said.

The Philippines joined the list of 115 other countries out of 167 that saw a decline in its 2020 democracy index, the EIU said.

EIU also said the global average score in 2020 was a record-low to 5.44 in 2019 to 5.37 last year, noting that democracy index in recent years have showed that democracy “has not been in robust health for some time.”

The democracy index was based on the ratings for 60 indicators, which were grouped into five categories namely electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation, and political culture.