June 25, 2026
MANILA – The Philippines is among Southeast Asia’s weakest performers in terms of human rights, basic freedoms and protection from state abuse, according to an assessment conducted by New Zealand-based Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI).
It was the first civil and political rights assessment of the nonprofit organization founded in 2016 that tracks the human rights performance of countries.
According to HRMI, the 2026 dataset scored over 50 countries on 14 civil and political rights between 2017 and 2025. It also provided annual data on five economic and social rights for 200 countries from 2000 to 2023.
“The Philippines received a Safety from the State score of 4.6 out of 10, indicating that many people are not adequately protected from arbitrary arrest, torture and ill treatment, forced disappearance, and extrajudicial killing,” the group said in a press statement on Thursday.
The country’s score for freedom from arbitrary arrest is especially alarming at just 3.1 out of 10, the report said, placing it in HRMI’s “very bad” category and marking the lowest result among Southeast Asian countries surveyed.
“The exceptionally low score for freedom from arbitrary arrest should be a wake-up call. Everyone should be able to exercise their rights without fear of unjust detention or retaliation,” said HRMI Southeast Asia engagement lead, Keshia Mahmood.
Empowerment score
The Philippines scored 5.4 out of 10 on HRMI’s empowerment measure, indicating that many people are unable to fully exercise their civil liberties and political rights. This includes freedoms of expression, assembly, association, religion and belief, and participation in democratic processes.
“Compared with other countries in Southeast Asia, the Philippines performs better than average on empowerment rights, but significant concerns remain,” the HRMI said.
For the overall empowerment score, the Philippines is the highest among the Southeast Asian countries assessed, ahead of Malaysia (5.1), Thailand (4.8), Singapore (4.5), Indonesia (4.0), and Vietnam (2.9).
HRMI’s assessment also found that the Philippines is not fully meeting the economic and social rights outcomes expected given its resources.
The group’s Quality of Life metric shows that the country achieves only 74.9 percent of the level expected based on its income, placing it below the Southeast Asian average and making it the region’s third-lowest performer, ahead only of Laos and Timor-Leste.