The flaws of Philippine democracy

The Philippine reputation as a “flawed democracy” is not new. We have been in this category since 2006, the year when the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) launched the Democracy Index.

The Inquirer reported on Monday that our country remained a flawed democracy in 2023 and even fell one spot to 53rd among 167 countries on the index (“PH still a ‘flawed democracy,’ index shows,” News, 2/19/24). The EIU said in its report that the Philippines scored 6.66 out of 10 possible points, compared to 6.73 in 2022. (The full report can be found at http://tinyurl.com/mrxnczz2.)

The annual index provides a measurement of the state of global democracy. The Philippines was also labeled “partly free” in the Freedom House’s annual Freedom in the World report for 2023 (58/100 total score in political rights and civil liberties).

One would think that our electoral exercise, which behaves more like a popularity and money contest, and internal conflicts are to blame for our flawed democracy. But lo and behold: the Philippines secured its highest score of 9.17 in the electoral process and pluralism indicator, and a 7.78 score for political participation. The high voter turnout in our previous election was one of the reasons: 83 percent of the 67.4 million registered voters turned up to vote in 2022. Civil liberties in the country were also rated high at 7.35.

But these three categories didn’t help the Philippines become a full democracy.

Fifty flawed democracies. Our reputation of having a flawed democracy is also true for a whole lot of countries, 50 to be exact. The number is more than one-third of the world’s population (37.6 percent). Interestingly, the same label applies to countries like India, Israel, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the United States.

Only 24 countries, led by the Nordic countries, are full democracies. The Democratic Index also saw a global decline in the overall democratic score.

Our electoral process, political participation, and civil liberties are worth scrutinizing. But today’s column will zero in on the two categories that are weighing the Philippines down: a miserable 4.64 score for the functioning of government and an equally regrettable 4.38 score in the political culture indicator. This is where the Democracy Index can help to eliminate the termites that eat the foundations of our democratic project.

Functioning of government. The function of government may refer to problems in governance and the capacity of the civil service to implement policies. The index asks such questions as “Do freely elected representatives determine government policy? Is there an effective system of checks and balances on the exercise of government authority? It asks whether the legislature is the supreme body and whether the government is free from undue influence by military or foreign powers. It asks whether “specific, economic, religious, or other powerful domestic groups exercise significant political power, parallel to democratic institutions?” It also asks about government accountability, transparency, and public access to information.

Finally, it asks, “How pervasive is corruption?” The Philippines ranked 115th out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index in 2023, indicating that the country’s public sector is seriously corrupt.

As we move through the list of questions, it becomes clear that democracy is a result of good governance and open bureaucracy. Honest and transparent governments, accountable to the electorate, and not centralizing power in the hands of a few are characteristics of democracies.

Political culture. The democratic political culture indicator asks, “Is there a sufficient degree of societal consensus and cohesion to underpin a stable, functioning democracy?” It also asks about perceptions of having “a strong leader who bypasses parliament and elections”; preference for military rule or rule by experts/technocrats; whether democracies are good at maintaining order or benefiting the economy; degree of popular support for democracy; and separation between Church and state.

In conclusion, the Democracy Index shows that the decline in democracy is not a unique occurrence for certain countries but is a global phenomenon.

To achieve full democracy status in this century, the Philippines must seriously address issues related to how the government operates. Corruption lies at the heart of it. The fabric of our democratic way of life is weakened by corruption’s corrosive effects. It maintains a cycle of greed, inequality, and injustice, while concentrating political and economic power in the hands of a few. Corruption, just like the lottery, takes money from the majority and gives it to a select few.

Moreover, the government and political parties should work hard to ensure a dynamic political culture that allows for dissent and encourages the people to trust in representative democracy over rule by strongmen.

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For comments: lim.mike04@gmail.com; @umichaell