By Azer Parrocha | Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The national government will exert “greater efforts” to uphold and promote rule of law in the Philippines, Malacañang said on Tuesday (Oct. 19).
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque echoed the remark made by Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra after the Philippines ranked 102nd out of 139 countries in the latest World Justice Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index, down from 91st place in 2020.
“Well, we stand by what Secretary of Justice Meynard Guevarra said that we are going to exert greater efforts to uphold and promote the rule of law in the country,” he said in a Palace press briefing.
He also stood by Guevarra’s stance that the crime rate in the country has been on a downtrend in recent years, except for a few sensational cases.
“Sabi nga po ni Secretary Guevarra, from where he stands eh except for a few sensational cases eh ang crime rate naman po sa bansa ay bumaba. At bukod pa rito, ang gobyerno po ay tinutugunan ‘no iyong mga paglabag ng karapatang pantao at saka iyong mga alleged abuses sa conduct ng campaign against illegal drugs (As Secretary Guevarra said, from where he stands, except for a few sensational cases, our crime rate decreased. Aside from this, our government is addressing the human rights violations and alleged abuses in the conduct of the anti-illegal drug campaign),” he added.
To further uphold and promote rule of law in the country, Roque said other institutions or pillars in the criminal justice system also need to do their part.
“Alam ninyo po kasi itong rule of law, limang tinatawag na pillars. At ang Ehekutibo po ay in-charge sa dalawa—ito po ‘yung pulis at saka iyong kulungan. So kinakailangan po magsama-sama ‘yung iba’t ibang mga pillars kasama na po ang lipunan dahil kabahagi po bilang pillar ng criminal justice system ang lipunan (You know, the rule of law has five pillars. The Executive is in charge of two — the police and jails. We need to unite with other pillars including society as it is part of the criminal justice system),” he said.
He said it is essential for all pillars to work in cooperation and coordination with one another.
“Pero kinakailangan ang Hudikatura bilisan ang proseso at kinakailangan din na ang civil society magmatyag pa rin ‘no at talagang gamitin ang proseso para lahat noong lalabag ay maparusahan po kung kinakailangan (But we need our judiciary to hasten the process, and we need our civil society to keep watch and use our process so that all violators will be punished if necessary),” he added.
Based on the WJP report, the Philippines also remained at 13th place out of 15 countries in East Asia and the Pacific region, ahead of Myanmar and Cambodia.
The index measures adherence to the rule of law based on eight indicators — constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice, and criminal justice.
The Philippines’ score also dropped by 2.9% in this year’s index to 0.46 on a zero to one scale. A score of one indicates the strongest adherence to the rule of law. (PNA)
