Government and Taxes: rule of law index

Showing posts with label rule of law index. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

BWorld 225, Anti-reason of Duterte’s anti-tambay order

* This is my column in BusinessWorld last June 22, 2018.

“I have no reason to suppose that he, who would take away my Liberty, would not when he had me in his Power, take away everything else.”

— John Locke

(1632-1704, British philosopher)

Recently, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the Philippine National Police (PNP) to arrest people who are out on the streets at night and seem to be idle or out making “tambay.” His speech to the PNP last June 14, 2018, which effectively became a directive was,

“My directive is ’pag mag-istambay-istambay sabihin niyo, ‘Umuwi kayo. ’Pag ’di kayo umuwi, ihatid ko kayo don sa opisina ni ano don, Pasig.’ Ako na ang bahala, ilagay mo lang diyan. Talian mo ’yung kamay pati bin[ti]–ihulog mo diyan sa ano. Do not — you be strict. Part of confronting people just idling around. They are potential trouble for the public.”

That directive has no details and since then, thousands have been rounded up by the PNP and brought to jails. Loitering or vagrancy has been decriminalized by RA 10158 in 2012 or under the previous administration.

I shared on Facebook a video uploaded by Ariel Morco last June 20. In that video, he went out of his small house, shirtless, when a police car and motorcycle passed by.

After he was accosted by an officer on a motorcycle, he went back inside but the officer pulled him out and was brought to the police van.

Mr. Morco wrote this note in his video,

“Ang tindi nio mga kumag na pulis. Andito lng ako sa bahay eh hinuli nio parin ako. Kahit wala ako damit pang itaas di naman ako nakatambay at wala ako sa kalye kita na naman sa video pumasok na eko eh hinila pa ako at pinilit na sumama. Mga walang utak na pulis. Kau na lng humusga.”

That video with 10,454 views the last time I checked it, was later removed with a note by Facebook, “Page could not be found.”

I suspect that some influential people have asked Mr. Morco to take it down otherwise, some ugly incidents might happen to him or his family.

Mr. Morco obviously is poor.

As seen in the video, his house is small and since it lacks air circulation, its residents occasionally remove their shirts while indoors to keep themselves cool. Occasionally, some of them go out, shirtless.

And when some PNP officers pass by, they think they have the “right” to penalize and prosecute these poor people, based on what the president said.

The World Justice Project (WJP) produces an annual study, the “Rule of Law Index” (RoLI) and score countries based on their performance on 8 factors and 44 sub-factors. The RoLI 2017-2018 Report involves more than 110,000 households as respondents and 3,000 expert surveyors in 113 countries and jurisdictions.

I checked the Philippines’ score in relation to our East Asian neighbors on two of eight factors: Factor 4 on “Fundamental Rights,” and Factor 8 on “Criminal Justice.” Not included in the report are Brunei and Laos.

In particular, I checked these four sub-factors:

4.2 The right to life and security of the person is effectively guaranteed.

4.3 Due process of law and rights of the accused.

8.1 Criminal investigation system is effective.

8.4 Criminal system is impartial.

The result for the Philippines indeed, is ugly.

Rule of Law Index 2017-18

These four sub-factors are among the “downers” or those that pulled down the Philippines’ overall score and global rank.

I was wondering, if Mr. Morco resisted being dragged to the police van, could he been considered as “nanlaban kasi” [resisted] and perhaps shot later?

The PNP should be ashamed of incidence like this.

If the leadership is serious in fighting abuses and extortion by their men, they should name those officers and announce their suspension, publicly. Otherwise, those officers will do it again, preferably in poor neighborhood with no CCTV.

We pay more tax-tax-tax under this administration that partly raise the salaries and perks of personnel in government including the PNP. One reason why crime can be high is because the PNP are busy with mundane concerns like going after ordinary, innocent, unarmed citizens.

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Thursday, July 07, 2016

BWorld 68, Criminal justice and Duterte

* This is my article last week, a day before the inauguration of President Duterte. His inauguration speech was good, no expletives, no PI, no "kill dozens/thousands", very Presidential.

State-sponsored murders can be the hallmark of the incoming President Rodrigo Duterte administration. Criminal adjudication and the correctional system will take a backseat as suspected drug pushers/users, thieves and other criminals will simply be killed outright.

Mr. Duterte announced last June 25 in Cebu that “This will be finished. Six years. You just think if I will kill 10 per day.” That is nearly 22,000 dead people in six years, whether real or falsely-accused.

So far, the death toll of drug-related murders from May 10 to June 25 has reached 59, according to The Philippine Star report. That is an average of 1.3 deaths per day and Mr. Duterte is not officially President yet.

I have no sympathy whatsoever with drug lords, drug pushers, and hardened drug users/addicts who steal and commit other crimes. Various law enforcement agencies should catch and bring them to jail. Give explicit signals of near certainty of arrest of law violators, especially the laws against murder, rape and stealing. Their faces, full names and aliases can be publicized.

These triple measures of near certainty of arrest + actual imprisonment + public posting of faces would be enough to significantly reduce criminality in the country. If the criminals themselves will not be ashamed of their imprisonment and publication of their faces in some papers, their families, relatives and friends will be ashamed and they will exert pressure on these people to mend their ways.

Outright murders, publicly-announced state-sponsored murders, send a signal that due process to some falsely accused individuals will be skipped. Some may have stolen chickens or cell phones but they were accused of drug dealing and are given summary execution as penalty.

The World Justice Project (WJP) produces an annual study, the “Rule of Law Index” (RLI) and score countries based on their performance on 8 factors and 44 sub-factors. The eight factors are: (1) Constraints on Government Powers, (2) Absence of Corruption, (3) Open Government, (4) Fundamental Rights, (5) Order and Security, (6) Effective Regulatory enforcement, (7) Civil Justice, and (8) Criminal Justice.

The WJP’s Index team has developed a set of questionnaires based on the Index’s conceptual framework, then it engaged 300+ (average) potential local experts per country to respond to the experts’ questionnaires, and engaged the services of leading local polling companies to implement the household surveys.

Polling companies conduct a survey of the general public in consultation with the Index team. The team sends the questionnaires to local experts and engage them in continual interaction. Then the team collects and maps the data onto the 44 sub-factors with global comparability and construct the final scores.

In the RLI 2015 Report, the Philippines scored 0.53 and ranked 51st overall out of 102 countries covered. The factor that heavily pulled down its overall score is #8, Criminal Justice, where it ranked 66th out of 102. Here is the score of the Philippines in comparison with its East Asian neighbors. The Philippines’ score in 2014 is also included (see table).

What are the implications and challenges for the Philippines’ Judiciary and Executive agencies involved in justice administration and enforcement?

One, address the issue of (a) corruption in the correctional system that may even increase some criminal behavior, and (b) discrimination and exceptions in enforcing the criminal system. In these two sub-factors the Philippines scored very low.

Two, address also the problems in (c) criminal adjudication, make it more timely, (d) undue interference of some government officials in enforcing the criminal system, and (e) disrespect for due process of those falsely accused. These three sub-factors also contributed to low score of the Philippines. The new policy of state-sponsored murders will further adversely affect our justice system.

Third, strengthen efforts toward (f) more effective criminal investigation, and (g) freedom from corruption of the criminal system.

Our developed neighbors Singapore, South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong do not have any policy of state-sponsored murders or even a death penalty. Stricter observance of the rule of law and having near-certainty of fines and/or imprisonment against law violators make them low-crime, low-corruption, economically-dynamic nations.

This is the kind of criminal justice system that we need, not state-sponsored murders.

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the head of Minimal Government Thinkers, a Fellow of SEANET and member of the Economic Freedom Network (EFN) Asia.

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Monday, January 11, 2016

BWorld 37, World rule of law index and the Philippines

* This is my article in BusinessWorld last January 08, 2016.

Among the gut issues that directly affect the ordinary people in many countries in the world is the peace and order situation, their freedom from criminality and terrorism, freedom from thieves, abductors and murderers.

In the Philippines, this situation is graphically represented by a huge number of private security guards almost everywhere: in schools and universities, office buildings and residential villages, malls and shops, banks and factories, airports and seaports, farms and resorts, and many other places.

This situation implies that people distrust the police, army, and other government enforcement agencies in protecting them and their private property. The peace and order function of the state has been greatly privatized a long time ago, despite the continued presence of huge and heavily-armed government armed forces and police.

Besides the huge number of private and armed security personnel, what are the other indicators that peace and order situation in the Philippines need major improvement?

The World Justice Project (WJP) has the answer in its annual Rule of Law Index.

Covering 102 countries, the Rule of Law (RoL) Index 2015 Report has used over 100,000 household and 2,400 expert surveys to measure how the RoL is experienced in practical, everyday situations by ordinary people around the world.

RoL is based and defined by the WJP on four universal principles:

1. The government and its officials and agents as well as individuals and private entities are accountable under the law.

2. The laws are clear, publicized, stable, and just; are applied evenly; and protect fundamental rights, including the security of persons and property.

3. The process by which the laws are enacted, administered, and enforced is accessible, fair, and efficient.

4. Justice is delivered timely by competent, ethical, and independent representatives and neutrals who are of sufficient number, have adequate resources, and reflect the make up of the communities they serve.

Eight factors were considered in constructing the RoL index:

(1) Constraints on Government Powers; (2) Absence of Corruption; (3) Open Government; (4) Fundamental Rights; (5) Order and Security; (6) Effective Regulatory enforcement; (7) Civil Justice; and (8) Criminal Justice.

For the specific purpose of this paper, only the components of Factors #5 and #8 will be shown. The country codes below represent the following: Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia; South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, China. (See Table)

The Philippines ranked good in Factor #5, along with other Asian countries mentioned above. Perhaps the presence of so many private security agencies has contributed to the overall improvement in order and security.

The country though scored low in Factor #8 where the government’s justice, police and correctional agencies are directly involved.

Presidential, congressional, and local candidates, as well as their political parties and officials, should make it a priority to improve the country’s criminal justice system. An improvement in this area should mean higher confidence and respect of government and its various institutions.

A poor household may get free education, free health care,, a monthly cash transfer from the government and other subsidy programs. But of what use are these welfare programs if the same household would have one or more family members abducted, raped, or even murdered? Or the small parcel of land it has inherited or acquired after years of savings was grabbed by some influential individuals and families?

Here’s to hoping that the security and order, the criminal justice system of the country will greatly improved in the years to come.

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the head of Minimal Government Thinkers, Inc., and a Fellow of Stratbase-Albert del Rosario Institute (ADRi). minimalgovernment@gmail.com

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Friday, October 15, 2010

Rule of Law 11: RoL Index

It's the first time I've heard of the "Rule of Law Index". I saw it first in a news report today, Philippines slips in Rule of Law. The report said,

THE PHILIPPINES has slipped in terms of providing a strong justice system and addressing corruption, according to a new global index upholding the rule of law.

The World Justice Project (WJP) found the Philippines dragged down by weak justice systems and corruption in the latest version of its Rule of Law Index released in the United States yesterday.

Intrigued by this report, I googled the WJP, searched the index and and I found this 146-pages long report, 3.9 MB pdf, The World Justice Project, Rule of Law Index™ 2010.

This is a very timely research project. The Index is composed of 10 factors:

»» Limited government powers
»» Absence of corruption
»» Clear, publicized and stable laws
»» Order and security
»» Fundamental rights
»» Open government
»» Regulatory enforcement
»» Access to civil justice
»» Effective criminal justice
»» Informal justice

Below is their definition of the "rule of law". A bit long compared to say, Hayek's definition, but this seems more complete too:

The four “universal principles” that emerged from our deliberations are as follows:

I. The government and its officials and agents are accountable under the law.

II. The laws are clear, publicized, stable, and fair, and protect fundamental rights, including the security of persons and property.

III. The process by which the laws are enacted, administered, and enforced is accessible, fair, and efficient.

IV. Access to justice is provided by competent, independent, and ethical adjudicators, attorneys or representatives, and judicial officers who are of sufficient number, have adequate resources, and reflect the makeup of the communities they serve.

If I remember it right, this is Hayek's definition of the rule of law: "The law applies to everyone, no exception. The law applies equally to unequal people."

Very simple and direct.

Now, how did the Philippines ranked out of the 35 countries covered by the study? The cities covered by the survey were Manila, Cebu and Davao. Page 74 showed this Philippines' ranking:

1. Limited government powers: 17th out of 35 (17/35)
2. Absence of corruption: 26/35
3. Clear, publicized and stable laws: 24/35
4. Order and security: 20/35
5. Fundamental rights: 26/35
6. Open government: 19/35
7. Regulatory enforcement: 20/35
8. Access to civil justice: 28/35
9. Effective criminal justice: 20/35
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Meanwhile, I wrote these two related papers this year:

1. Laws and the Individuals

February 26, 2010

(This is my article "People's Brigada News", a weekend tabloid circulated in southern Metro Manila)
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In judging candidates whether they will become good President or not, one usual criteria that many voters demand, is the number of laws that a legislator-candidate has authored. That is,

More laws authored = good legislator = good President (or Mayor/Governor)

There are practical reasons for this kind of reasoning. One of which is that legislators (Senators, Congressmen/women, Provincial or City Councilors) who were once showbiz and sports superstars, those considered “less cerebral” but got elected because of their popularity, tend to craft the least number of (national or local) laws and were just silent and passive in various debates being considered by the (national or local) legislature.

While this observation is valid, it is also important to ask questions like:

What are laws, in the first place?
Are all laws beneficial to individuals?
Is having plenty of laws good for society?

I offered this approach, or asked those questions, because I want to offer an alternative definition of laws. Here it is:

Laws are prohibitions. They are restrictions that individuals are not supposed to commit; otherwise, there are certain penalties for not obeying the laws.

For instance, there are no laws (no prohibitions) against breathing or flying in the air, but there are laws (and prohibitions) against polluting the air. There are no laws (no prohibitions) against eating, but there are laws against selling expired or poisonous food.

The most famous laws are the laws against killing, stealing and rape. There are harsh penalties for committing such crimes.

Some laws are not outright prohibitions, but more on appropriating a budget or giving subsidies or exempting from certain taxes, fees and regulations. to certain sectors of society. Or issuing price control or profit control of companies in a particular sector. Still, there are penalties for not giving the stated subsidies or exemptions, or not following the price control. So in the end, they still fit in the original definition that “laws are prohibitions.”

So now that we establish the simple definition of laws, is it good and desirable if there are plenty of laws in society? Will people be happy if there are plenty of prohibitions in our communities, schools and offices, more prohibitions in our lives?

It is doubtful that people will desire to have plenty of laws and prohibitions in their lives. Take the case of owners of land and houses. First there is a law on real property tax (RPT). RPT is the government’s way of saying, “all lands belong to the government”, that is why people, including owners of land and small lots, must pay a tax or “rent” to the government. Failure to do so will empower the government to expropriate a private land and use it for its own use, or sell it to other people.

Second, in a few cities and municipalities in the country now, there are prohibitions for people to introduce changes or renovation inside their own house or office, unless they first get a “permit to renovate” from the city or municipal hall. And after they finish the renovation, they need to secure a “permit to occupy” their own house or office. Somehow, this is strictly enforced only in big office buildings. But let us wait in the future for this law to be strictly enforced in our own houses as well, when local governments have better monitoring and spying capabilities.

Another negative impact of having too many laws, both national and local, from more “hardworking” legislators, is that it is becoming more difficult for the ordinary citizens to know and remember all those laws and prohibitions. Is there a law against spitting in the streets? If so, in what cities or municipalities? Is there a law against smoking inside jeepneys and tricycles? Is there a law against drinking outside your house? Is there a law against hitting the butts of children if they violate certain rules set by their own parents? Is there a law against keeping dogs that occasionally bark at midnight?

It is important to keep a few laws that really protect everyone. Like the laws against killing, stealing and rape. But when there are too many laws and restrictions, individual freedom is compromised, and more people will be tempted to evade, if not break laws. And this erodes respect for the rule of law.

So, we go back to the original issue: is a legislator-candidate who has authored many laws, a good and desirable candidate for President, for Mayor, for Governor?

This should be a good mental exercise for voters. But for me, my vote is NO. I will go for a candidate that has crafted the least laws and prohibitions. But this is not to support lazy legislators either, who do practically nothing and hence, enacted nothing. Because such lazy legislators have also allowed and did not block the enactment of new laws and more prohibitions from the more “hardworking” legislators.

Let us support candidates who will give us the least restrictions, the least taxation, the least subsidies and regulations. Because such candidates will give us more leeway to better work and plan for our own lives.

(2) Small act, big message in following traffic rules

July 05, 2010

Some people, including those in government, keep on harping that the President should not stop on red light because of "wasted time", because of security concerns, etc.

They just can't get it. The President or anyone with a driver stuck in traffic will have no idle moment if he/she wants to. If i were rich, I would also get a driver and I will have zero idle minutes. I can work on my computer, read a newspaper or a book, make or receive text messages or phone calls, look around and take pictures of some idiots hanging around, doing nothing and discussing what kind of subsidies the government should give them.

The President already said it over and over again. If he has an important meeting, then he will wake up early, leave early, arrive in meeting on time, and there will be no need for his security escort to shoo away ordinary motorists as if they are a burden to society. Which past administrations, the last 2 especially, have been doing.

And I don't beleive that the President's SUV is not bullet-proof. Plus it is surrounded by armed guards on big SUVs and motorcycles. Security concerns is not much an issue.

Another advantage of the President being stuck on traffic, is that the DPWH, MMDA, DOTC and LGUs will be on their toes ALWAYS. If the President got stuck in traffic because there is a badly-managed road digging under DOTC project, or a local government was lazy in removing those counter-flowing trisikads and tricycles, or MMDA and/or DPWH were lazy in clearing a clogged drainage that causes flooding even for slight rains, they they will get some official reprimand perhaps.

The other day, I rode a jeepney and I was talking to the driver in QC. He started the conversation, noting that "wala na akong naririnig na wang-wang ngayon" (I don't hear those loud sirens now) while smiling. I added, "nabawasan na mga mayayabang sa kalsada" (the braggarts have been diminished) and he added further, "pati mga nagka-counterflow, wala pa akong nakikita" (I havent seen counter-flowing vehicles too). And that's only 3 days from the President's inauguration.

Small acts of no wang-wang, stopping on red light, by the president. Small time "wasted" being stuck on red light. But BIG symbol to the public, to respect the law, ordinary traffic laws.
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See also:

Rule of Law 1: Entrepreneurship and Government Permits, September 16, 2008
Rule of Law 2: Property Rights and Lefts, March 02, 2009
Rule of Law 3: AIG Bonuses, Government Bail-outs, March 18, 2009
Rule of Law 4: On Thailand Crackdown, April 18, 2009
Rule of Law 5: Lawless State, Corruption and Coercion, August 01, 2009
Rule of Law 6: Discussions in Facebook, January 10, 2010
Rule of Law 7: Property Rights and IPRI 2009 Report, February 27, 2010
Rule of Law 8: Purpose and Supremacy of the Law, June 15, 2010
Rule of Law 9: Laws, Prohibitions and Corruption, June 30, 2010
Rule of Law 10: On Wang-wang and Government Laws, July 04, 2010

Posted on May 19, 2009:
Hayek 1: Liberty and liberties
Hayek 6: Dangers of majority rule
Hayek 7: Rule of law means no exception
Hayek 8: Safeguards of individual liberty
Hayek 12: Rule of law and rule of the lawless

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