The concerning signs of deterioration in peace and order, governance and democratic processes in the Philippines led to the decline of the sustainability of the country’s civil society sector in 2017. These have largely affected the legal environment influencing the work of civil society organizations (CSOs), their advocacy initiatives as well as their public image. These were among the findings of the 2017 CSO Sustainability Index – Philippines study produced by the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO) for the USAID last year.

The study looked at seven (7) dimensions to determine CSO sustainability: 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 Philippines’ rating for 2017 is 3.4, a decline from its consistent rating of 3.3 since 2014 when the study started to be conducted in the country.

Figure 1. Overall CSO Sustainability for the Philippines – 2017 An overall decline of 0.1 in CSO sustainability rating may be moderate, but this was brought by significant and even unexpected changes in specific dimensions of CSO sustainability, based on the USAID’s CSOSI methodology. The overall decline is largely brought by significant declines in three (3) dimensions – Legal Environment, Advocacy and Public Image.

Legal Environment score was 3.5, which has been deteriorating by 0.1 annually since 2014. In 2017, while legal procedures on CSO registration, operation, and taxation generally remained unchanged, continued pronouncements by the president and his supporters against critics, activists, and human rights defenders have created an unnerving environment for many CSOs, particularly in the National Capital Region, nearby provinces, and Mindanao. CSOs labeled by government as CPP-NPA supporters or terrorists reported of harassment. Several critics, advocates and media outlets were also victims of online threats by supporters of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Advocacy in the CSO sector deteriorated significantly to 3.5 from 3.3 the previous year. There appeared to be fewer meaningful opportunities for CSOs and citizens to participate in decision-making in 2017. Most CSO campaigns went back to upholding basic human rights and protecting democratic institutions and process, rather than concrete policy reforms. Some CSOs lied low on their policy advocacy work, for fear of being labelled as “dilawan” or critical of administration’s policies.

Philippine CSOs’ public image also declined by .2 from 3.2 in the previous year to 3.4 in 2017. In general, the president’s pronouncements against human rights organizations and opposition actors have caused civil society voices and CSOs’ public outreach to somewhat diminish. Advocacy groups conducted fewer press conferences and forums, and many service delivery NGOs opted to continue doing their work silently to stay under the radar and avoid being targeted.

Despite these trends, many CSOs and social movements continued to staunchly express public condemnation of certain government policiesand proposals, such as the plan to reinstate the death penalty, the declaration and extension of martial law in Mindanao, and threats to declare a revolutionary government.

Figure 2. Overall CSOSI Sustainability – Philippines,2014 to 2017.Nevertheless, the sector’s scores in the other dimensions, i.e. Organizational Capacity, Financial Viability, Service Provision and Sectoral Infrastructure, either remained the same or improved this year. In terms of service provision, for example, new services were developed by human rights organizations and other voluntary groups in terms of addressing the needs of victims of extrajudicial killings stemming from the Duterte administration’s all out war against drugs. Strengths in these areas serve as opportunities for CSOs to improve on the sector’s overall sustainability.

Further, the Philippine CSO sector ratings continue to be the highest among 9countries in Asia that have been participating in the study, followed closely by Bangladesh.  The country has sustained its lead in the areas of Legal Environment, Service Provision, Sectoral Infrastructure and Public Image.  The other participating countries are Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Pakistan, Burma, Cambodia and Thailand.

In 2017, significant trends affecting CSOs in Asia include closing civic space, security developments and humanitarian disasters. More than half of the assessed countries—Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka—reported overall deterioration in CSO sustainability, resulting fromheightened government harassment and declines in foreign funding.

Figure 3. 2017 Overall CSO Sustainability – Asia, 2015 to 2017.

Please see the full report: 2017-CSOSI Asia Regional Report