EVERY year, a number of research and consultancy groups and other transnational organizations produce a variety of economic, political, or social analyses of different aspects of life on our planet. The latest of these to be published was the Global Peace Index 2018, which is produced by the Institute of Economics and Peace (IEP), an Australia-based think tank.

This year’s edition is the Institute’s 12th annual report, which gives a rather discouraging assessment of “the state of peace” in the country. The Philippines was ranked 137th of 163 countries, one spot lower than last year, and was the lowest rank of any country in East or Southeast Asia except for North Korea, which placed 150th.