The Philippine Online Chronicles

The Philippines is “partly-free” as of last year.

This is the assessment of international human rights watchdog Freedom House in their “Map of Freedom 2009” posted on their website.

Freedom House noted “high-level corruption scandals,” “extra-judicial killings,” and armed conflicts in Mindanao as the basis for the Philippines' rating.

It also reported unjust labor conditions in the country, specifying contractualization of the labor force, unfair collective bargaining agreements, the decline of trade unions, and the requirement of a permit to strike.

Commenting on the Philippine judicial system, Freedom House reported that “rule of law in the country is generally weak. A backlog of more than 800,000 cases in the court system contributes to impunity...”

Lastly, Freedom House also raised the issue of trafficking and forced labor on women as something that “exacerbates the problem.” The summary, however, did not mention the Maguindanao massacre of November 2009, which was considered as the most brutal attack on mediamen in recent history.

The survey questionnaire included seven topics, tackling the electoral process, political pluralism and participation, functioning of government, freedom of expression and belief, associational and organizational rights, rule of law, and individual rights. Countries are rated either as “free,” “partly-free,” or “not free.”

“The survey does not rate governments or government performance per se, but rather the real-world rights and freedoms enjoyed by individuals. Thus... it places a greater emphasis on whether these rights are implemented in practice,” Freedom House explained.

According to the survey, Indonesia is the only “free” country in Southeast Asia while socialist-led countries like China, Vietnam, Cuba, and North Korea, as well as most Arab, North African, and North Asian countries were considered “not free.”

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