By Xave Gregorio, April 27, 2023; The Philippine Star
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines slipped for the second year in a row in an index that measures good governance, even as the Singapore-based private non-profit that maintains the listing acknowledged that the country improved in disaster risk management.
The Philippines dropped three spots to the 66th place out of 104 countries in the Chandler Good Government Index, which in its third year focused on how governments performed amid a “global polycrisis.”
“That is ‘when crises in multiple global systems become causally entangled in ways that significantly degrade humanity’s prospects’,” said the Chandler Institute of Government, which maintains the index.
The index measures governments based on 35 indicators under seven pillars, namely leadership and foresight, robust laws and policies, strong institutions, financial stewardship, attractive marketplace, global influence and reputation, and helping people rise.
Of these seven pillars, the Philippines was below the global average except in financial stewardship, where it was rated to be above average.
Despite this, the index recognized that the Philippines fared better in its approach to disaster risk management, with the country rising to the 22nd spot in 2023 from the 26th place last year in the coordination indicator.
The index also said that the Philippines moved up six notches in governance outcomes under the helping people rise pillar largely due to progress in satisfaction with public health and services.
Among the seven Southeast Asian countries rated by the index, the Philippines ranked second to the last besting only Cambodia which sat at the 88th spot, while Singapore took the first place in the listing.