PH rated ‘medium risk’ in latest political stability index
The Philippines was rated at “medium risk” for economic, crime and geopolitical vulnerabilities in a political stability index that pointed to a troubling cluster of high-risk countries across South and Southeast Asia.
The country scored 69.2 out of 100 in the inaugural Economic Crime and Geopolitics Index (ECGI), a measure that blends corruption levels, the severity of economic crime, public response, and geopolitical pressures to gauge how these forces shape political stability.
The new index was developed by Asanga Abeyagoonasekera, a Sri Lankan foreign policy analyst and senior fellow at the Millennium Project in Washington, D.C., to serve as a “forward-looking early-warning mechanism” for governments, investors and security analysts.
Still in its testing phase across the think tank’s network in more than 70 countries, the tool is billed as one of the first attempts to systematically track the nexus of corruption, geopolitical stress and political risk.
The Philippines joined Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Maldives in the medium-risk countries with moderate scores across key variables, “reflecting relatively stronger governance, lower exposure to high-level corruption and manageable geopolitical influence,” the report said.
Timely report
The findings came as Philippine authorities investigated alleged anomalies in government flood control projects and Public Works Secretary Vivencio Dizon warned that the value of misappropriated funds from such irregularities could run into the trillions of pesos.
At the other end of the spectrum, Singapore, Brunei and Bhutan were rated at the lowest risk level, noted for “strong governance, low corruption, and balanced international engagement serving as benchmarks for institutional resilience.”
“High geopolitical influence necessitates strategic foreign policy management, balancing international partnerships while minimizing external interference that could exacerbate domestic risks,” the report said.
“Medium- and low-risk nations serve as practical examples, demonstrating how robust governance, proactive civic engagement, and calibrated diplomatic engagement can mitigate systemic vulnerabilities,” it added.
Nations with high risk
High-risk countries included Pakistan, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, India, Afghanistan and Cambodia. The report said they face a “complex environment where corruption, institutional weaknesses, civic activism and external pressures mutually reinforce one another.”
“Out of nine nations classified as high risk, three have already undergone the full cycle from uprising to new regime,” the report noted.
“The remaining six face significant instability—ranging from civil war in Myanmar, to continuous protests in Indonesia and India, to the tightening autocratic grip in Cambodia, Pakistan’s recurring cycles of political collapse, and Afghanistan’s enduring governance vacuum under the Taliban,” it added.
