While the sustainability of the civil society sector in the Philippines did not change notably in 2018, scores for the legal environment, advocacy, and public image dimensions all deteriorated. This is among the findings of the 2018 CSO Sustainability Index – Philippines.

Figure 1. 2018 Overall CSO Sustainability Index for the Philippines

In 2018, CSOs, human rights defenders, activists, and lawyers representing marginalized groups were subject to increased harassment, including extrajudicial killings. In addition, CSOs were subject to burdensome new reporting requirements. CSO advocacy declined due to continuing verbal attacks by President Duterte against critics of his policies and the increasing challenge of lobbying for key policy reforms. Moreover, extrajudicial killings of human rights lawyers, crackdowns on traditional and online media, and harassment of online critics of government policies have led to an increase in self-censorship and a reduction in the number of organized groups joining protests. The government’s attacks on media outlets and CSOs also led to decreased coverage of CSOs and a decline in the sector’s public image.

The study looked at seven (7) dimensions to determine the sustainability of the civil society sector: Legal Environment, Organizational Capacity, Financial Viability, Advocacy, Service Provision, Sectoral Infrastructure and Public Image. A panel of experts working with CSOs were convened to rate the sustainability of the sector in these 7 dimensions, using a rating scale of 1-3 for ‘Sustainability Enhanced’, 3.1 to 5 for ‘Sustainability Evolving’ and 5.1 to 7 for ‘Sustainability Impeded.’  The CSO Sustainability Index methodology relies on CSO practitioners and researchers, who in each country form an expert panel to assess and rate these dimensions of CSO sustainability during the year. The Philippines’ rating for 2018 is 3.5, a further decline from its 2017 score of 3.4, and 3.3 from 2014 to 2016.

Nevertheless, the Philippine CSO sector maintained its score from last year in terms of organizational capacity, financial viability, service provision and sectoral infrastructure. The sector is strongest this year in terms of Sectoral Infrastructure because of the presence of local funding institutions, networks and coalitions, and training programs accessible to CSOs. It continues to be weakest in terms of Financial Viability because of the CSOs’ constricting access to funding and capacity to raise their own resources.

Further, the Philippine civil society sector continues to boast of highest level of sustainability in the Asian region, compared with the 8 other countries covered by this report, such as Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Figure 2. 2018 Trends in CSO Sustainability in Asia

In 2018, political developments, ongoing conflicts and constricting civic space were key trends that influenced the sustainability of CSOs in the region, which demonstrated negative trends in the overall CSO sustainability in these 9 countries. Across the region, Service Provision continues to be one of the strongest dimensions of sustainability, with CSOs throughout the region providing services in a variety of areas, including health, education, legal assistance, environmental protection, small business development, and agriculture. Financial Viability continues to be the weakest dimension of CSO sustainability in the 9 countries covered by the report. Foreign funding continues to be an important source of support for CSOs in Asia, but mainly benefit only a small segment of the sector; mainly those in the cities and with greater experience and capacities in managing development projects.

To view and download the Philippine Report, click this link.

Read more and download the overall 2018 Asian Report here.