Philippine passport weakens as it drops to 78th in latest global ranking

The Philippine passport plummeted to the 78th spot in the latest Henley Passport Index (HPI)—five points below its January ranking.

The country's updated ranking is based on the latest report of the HPI, which is known as the "original, authoritative ranking of all the world’s passports." It showed that Philippine passport holders can still travel to 69 countries visa-free such as the Barbados, Brazil, Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Morocco, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and more. 

Countries that would still require a visa from the Philippines include Australia, Italy, Japan, Norway, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Spain, the United Arab Emirates (e-visa), the United Kingdom, and the United States, among others.

The HPI includes 199 different passports and 227 travel destinations.

Of all the passports in the world, those issued by countries like France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, and Spain are considered the strongest. The holders of these passports are able to enjoy visa-free access to 194 destinations across the globe.

Afghanistan, meanwhile, remained at the bottom of the list with visa-free access to 28 countries.

The HPI is "considered the standard reference tool for global citizens and sovereign states when assessing where a passport ranks on the global mobility spectrum."

It's based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), with research from the firm Henley & Partners. Each passport is scored depending on the visa requirement of each travel destination.