How to measure organized crime?
A series of 13 discussion papers, one for each illicit market considered during the development of the Index.
Read more on globalinitiative.netCriminal markets
6.30
An assessment of the value, prevalence and non-monetary impacts of a specific crime type.
Human trafficking
7.00
Illicit activity involving coercion, deception, abduction or fraud for the purpose of exploitation, regardless of the victim’s consent.
Human smuggling
5.00
Activities by an organized crime group involving the illegal entry, transit or residence of migrants for a financial or material benefit.
Arms trafficking
7.50
The sale, acquisition, movement, and diversion of arms, their parts and ammunition from legal to illegal commerce and/or across borders.
Flora crimes
7.00
The illicit trade and possession of species covered by CITES convention, and other species protected under national law.
Fauna crimes
7.50
The poaching, illicit trade in and possession of species covered by CITES and other species protected by national law. Includes IUU fishing.
Non-renewable resource crimes
8.00
The illicit extraction, smuggling, mingling, bunkering or mining of natural resources and the illicit trade of such commodities.
Heroin trade
4.00
The production, distribution and sale of heroin. Consumption of the drug is considered in determining the reach of the criminal market.
Cocaine trade
3.50
The production, distribution and sale of cocaine and its derivatives. Consumption is considered in determining the reach of the market.
Cannabis trade
4.50
The illicit cultivation, distribution and sale of cannabis oil, resin, herb or leaves. Consumption is used to determine the market's reach.
Synthetic drug trade
9.00
The production, distribution and sale of synthetic drugs. Consumption is considered in determining the reach of the market.
Criminal actors
7.38
An assessment of the impact and influence of a specific criminal actor type on society.
Mafia-style groups
8.00
Clearly defined organized crime groups that usually have a known name, defined leadership, territorial control and identifiable membership.
Criminal networks
6.00
Loose networks of criminal associates engaging in criminal activities who fail to meet the defining characteristics of mafia-style groups.
State-embedded actors
8.00
Criminal actors that are embedded in, and act from within, the state’s apparatus.
Foreign actors
7.50
State and/or non-state criminal actors operating outside their home country. Includes foreign nationals and diaspora groups.
Political leadership and governance
3.00
The State's role in responding to organized crime and its effectiveness. Strong political leadership/governance suggests higher resilience.
Government transparency and accountability
3.00
The degree to which states have put oversight mechanisms in place to ensure against state collusion in illicit activities.
International cooperation
5.00
A country's supranational structures and processes of interaction, policy making and concrete implementation to respond to organized crime.
National policies and laws
5.00
A state's legal action and structures put in place to respond to organized crime.
Judicial system and detention
4.50
Refers to a state’s judiciary’s power to effectively and independently enforce judgments on organized crime-related cases.
Law enforcement
2.00
The state’s ability to investigate, gather intelligence, protect and enforce adherence to its rules and procedures against organized crime.
Territorial integrity
4.00
The degree to which states are able to control their physical and cyber territory and infrastructure against organized criminal activities.
Anti-money laundering
5.00
A state’s ability to implement measures to combat money laundering and other related threats to the integrity of its financial system.
Economic regulatory capacity
6.00
The ability to control/manage the economy and regulate transactions (national and international) for trade to thrive within the rule of law.
Victim and witness support
5.00
Assistance provided to victims of various forms of organized crime, including initiatives such as witness protection programs.
Prevention
4.00
Refers to the existence of strategies, measures, resource allocation, programmes and processes that are aimed to inhibit organized crime.
Non-state actors
3.00
The degree non-state actors are allowed to engage in OC responses and their roles in supporting State efforts/ as watchdogs to governments.
Political leadership and governance
3.00
The State's role in responding to organized crime and its effectiveness. Strong political leadership/governance suggests higher resilience.
Government transparency and accountability
3.00
The degree to which states have put oversight mechanisms in place to ensure against state collusion in illicit activities.
International cooperation
5.00
A country's supranational structures and processes of interaction, policy making and concrete implementation to respond to organized crime.
National policies and laws
5.00
A state's legal action and structures put in place to respond to organized crime.
Judicial system and detention
4.50
Refers to a state’s judiciary’s power to effectively and independently enforce judgments on organized crime-related cases.
Law enforcement
2.00
The state’s ability to investigate, gather intelligence, protect and enforce adherence to its rules and procedures against organized crime.
Territorial integrity
4.00
The degree to which states are able to control their physical and cyber territory and infrastructure against organized criminal activities.
Anti-money laundering
5.00
A state’s ability to implement measures to combat money laundering and other related threats to the integrity of its financial system.
Economic regulatory capacity
6.00
The ability to control/manage the economy and regulate transactions (national and international) for trade to thrive within the rule of law.
Victim and witness support
5.00
Assistance provided to victims of various forms of organized crime, including initiatives such as witness protection programs.
Prevention
4.00
Refers to the existence of strategies, measures, resource allocation, programmes and processes that are aimed to inhibit organized crime.
Non-state actors
3.00
The degree non-state actors are allowed to engage in OC responses and their roles in supporting State efforts/ as watchdogs to governments.
Human trafficking is a major issue in the Philippines, with trafficked persons falling prey to different types of crimes, including forced labour, sex trafficking, child labour and organ trafficking. As one of the world’s largest sources of labour migration, the Philippines offers ample ground for unethical recruitment. Recruitment costs can run higher than anticipated wages, often forcing individuals to sell assets or borrow money at high interest rates, making them more vulnerable to human trafficking. Additionally, the country’s sex industry has seen an increase in online child pornography. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted transport and travel, it has also caused increased economic hardship, which has made more Filipino women and children vulnerable to unethical recruitment and trafficking.
Human smuggling is closely linked to human trafficking in the Philippines, which is a key source countries for human smuggling to other East and South-east Asian countries. Smuggling routes also exist to the United States, Europe and the Arab Gulf region. Irregular migrants often rely on document fraud, identity swapping and other techniques to access labour opportunities. A loose network of corporate and individual brokers assists with human smuggling.
The Philippines is a destination and source country for arms trafficking, with most illegal arms being domestically produced or leaked from government stockpiles. The military and some of its affiliated militias are also believed to facilitate the illegal trade of imported weapons, particularly alongside official entry points. Illegal arms are largely acquired by violent non-state armed groups in the country, including separatist groups, family clan-based organizations, criminal organizations and terrorist groups.
Despite severe deforestation over the last forty years, illegal logging continues to be widespread in the Philippines. Most of the illegal timber is exported to foreign markets, including China, Japan and the United States. Slow economic growth, widespread poverty, a growing population, weak governance and corruption alongside official entry points have fuelled illegal logging in the country. There is also an illicit trade in rare ornamental plant species, particularly sourced in Palawan. Meanwhile, the country’s illegal online plant trade has increased in recent years.
The Philippines, a biodiversity hotspot, is also a major player in the illegal wildlife-trade market as a consumer, source and transit country for parrots and cockatoos from New Guinea, Philippine pangolins, Indian star tortoises, and corals, among others. Facebook is the main market for illegal wildlife trade. As with illegal logging, illegal wildlife trade in the Philippines is facilitated by weak law enforcement and corruption at seaports and airports. There are also illegal gold-mining operations in the Philippines, including in Mindanao, where there is significant transnational smuggling of gold due to corrupt state officials who rely on this criminal market to fund counter-insurgency operations and elections. The country’s porous borders and the propensity of international companies to export gold outside of national regulatory regimes also aid the illegal gold market.
The country is a source, corridor and destination for methamphetamine, the use of which in the Philippines is estimated to be among the highest in the world. Precursor chemicals for meth production are smuggled into the country from pharmaceutical-industry supply points in China and Vietnam. This trade is facilitated by corruption at all levels of state institutions. Cannabis is the second-most consumed drug in the Philippines, with year-round domestic cultivation across the country, primarily on the islands of Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao. There has been an increase in the number of airport and customs arrests for imported marijuana, which was likely being smuggled for medicinal purposes.
Cocaine is a comparably less popular drug than cannabis in the Philippines and is trafficked into the country by foreign organized-criminal groups, in collaboration with domestic actors. There is also an increase in cocaine washing up in the Eastern coastal provinces, which government authorities say is most likely being transited to Australia and dumped in Philippine waters. The Philippines is a destination and, to a lesser extent, transit market for heroin from the Golden Triangle region. However, compared to its neighbours in the region, domestic consumption of heroin and other opiates is low and is superseded by other drugs.
*This indicator was first included in the 2023 iteration of the tool
*This indicator was first included in the 2023 iteration of the tool
There is evidence of widespread links between organized crime, politics and state institutions in the Philippines. In particular, nepotism, driven by clan-based political patronage, has created a political environment ripe for corrupt practices and exploitation by organized-criminal groups in the country. There are a number of generational organized-crime groups with foreign origins in the country that are involved in drug trafficking, arms trafficking, human trafficking and money laundering through casinos, offshore electronic and internet-based betting facilities and real estate. There is also a reported increase in foreign Islamic fighters migrating to ISIS-affiliated groups in the southern Philippines and becoming involved in criminal markets.
Mafia-style criminal actors also operate in the Philippines and activity from these mafia-style groups is likely only to increase in the coming years. The primary form of such groups is based on familial clans that have dominated Filipino politics and society for decades. Meanwhile, loose criminal networks have emerged from different parts of the Philippines, particularly the southern Philippines. These networks are involved in various criminal activities. Some of these groups are classified as violent non-state actors, while others are designated as terrorist groups by the state. The COVID-19 pandemic gave a boost to online crimes and scams from criminal networks in the Philippines.
The Philippines has taken a strong position against organized crime, particularly as it relates to illicit drugs. However, extrajudicial killings have become a core element of this effort. Moreover, there are allegations of high-level government and law enforcement involvement in organized-criminal markets, including in Mindanao. In June 2020, the country also signed an anti-terror law, which has been questioned before the Supreme Court and has raised fears that it will be used by the government to silence critics and avoid accountability. Meanwhile, security forces in the Philippines have been laying charges of corruption against officials critical of the government.
The Philippines is a strong member of regional consensus agreements and alliances around organized crime. The country is also party to most of the relevant international conventions, treaties, plans of action and political statements related to drugs, organized crime and international cooperation. However, the Philippines has been sporadic in its pursuit of practical measures to implement international cooperation. On a national level, the Philippines has a number of laws pertaining to organized crime, as well as laws aimed at eliminating and punishing human trafficking and corruption. The country has severe penalties for drug-related crimes and is currently reviewing proposed legislation to revive the death penalty for drug traffickers. The country also has a law that aims to preserve and encourage ecological balance and biological diversity.
Law enforcement officials are believed to be heavily involved in facilitating illicit criminal markets in the country, particularly drug trafficking. Customs, border and maritime officials are alleged to be central participants in the transnational smuggling of goods via air, land and sea routes. Overall, the country has ineffective control over its territory and borders due to the vastness of its seascapes and the scale of economic activity that occurs in these seascapes, including the smuggling of drugs, arms, counterfeit goods and people. There is also evidence of extensive illegal smuggling through cargo and passengers at the country’s airports.
There is some evidence of a corrupt judiciary in the Philippines, including the presence of corruption and mistreatment in prison facilities as well as allegations of organized-criminal groups operating inside these institutions with the support of correctional officers and other security officials. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a militaristic approach to controlling the pandemic resulted in overcrowded criminal justice institutions.
The Philippines nominally complies with most mechanisms to counter money laundering and terrorist financing. However, these measures have featured insufficient law enforcement and weak oversight. Additionally, there have been calls for the Philippines to significantly improve its compliance with measures addressing money laundering through its casinos. The introduction of new offshore internet-based gambling call centres has added to money laundering threats in the country. There are also growing concerns about financing related to the influx of returnee ISIS fighters to the southern Philippines. Although the country experienced a pandemic-induced recession in 2020, the investment climate has been enhanced over the last decade and is recognized as one of the fastest-growing economies in Asia. Additionally, special economic zones are known for their regulatory openness, and lack of bureaucratic hurdles for investors.
The Philippines has awitness-protection programme that provides protection and benefits to people who are willing to testify or have knowledge about certain crimes. The government also offers protection to human-trafficking victims through a programme that provides psychological and medical aid, legal assistance, alternative livelihood and skills training and reintegration services to victims. The Philippines National Police Force is actively engaged with the National Crime Prevention and Public Safety Programme, which includes intensification of the Philippines National Police checkpoints, community awareness, intensification of mobile patrols and police presence, intelligence-driven preventive patrols and the development of security and crime-awareness campaigns. In March 2017, the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs was created to ensure an integrated and unified approach to government anti-drug-abuse programmes and policies. While the Philippines has a significant national civil-society capacity, the freedom of the press is extremely repressed, with the government banning, monitoring and intimidating journalists and news agencies that were investigating allegations of government corruption and criminal behaviour.
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The criminal markets score is represented by the pyramid base size and the criminal actors score is represented by the pyramid height, on a scale ranging from 1 to 10. The resilience score is represented by the panel height, which can be identified by the side of the panel.
A series of 13 discussion papers, one for each illicit market considered during the development of the Index.
Read more on globalinitiative.net
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This report was funded in part by a grant from the United States Department of State.
ENACT is funded by the European Union and implemented by the Institute for Security Studies and INTERPOL, in affiliation with the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime.
The opinions, findings and conclusions stated herein are those of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of State.