MANILA, Philippines — A global rights watchdog has given the Philippines a lower grade in terms of how free its civic spaces are, noting that attacks against activists and the media meant that free speech and peaceful assembly have transitioned from “obstructed” to “repressed.”
In its report released ahead of the global Human Rights Day, the Civicus Monitor noted that the Philippines’ score worsened in 2020, just one step away from the lowest grade based on their five-point rating.
Civicus grades countries’ civic spaces through reports from partner organizations across the world, which are then used to categorize countries. Ratings of “open” is the highest grade possible, as it d…
Keep on reading: Global rights watchdog says PH civic spaces shrunk: Free speech, assembly now ‘repressed’