Total, Domestic, and ExternalDebt I I | 8o.oo% 2005 I Domestic I 2006 2009 2010 Foreign I The performance of the fiscal sector is a major influence in the ability of the government to discharge its human rights obligations since to a large extent it determines the availability of resources required to realize human rights. The picture that emerges for the last decade is one of fiscal difficulties marked by inability to collect taxes, economic fluctuations that impede revenue mobilization, significant interest payments on the debt, and a policy stance geared towards reducing the deficit and aiming for a balanced budget. The result is a fiscal and macroeconomic environment that is hardly conducive if not detrimental to the progressive enjoyment of human rights. Recent Trends in Human Rights in the Philippines Amidst this fiscal backdrop, human rights remain largely unrealized in the country. Admittedly, the lack of accurate statistics either from official or non-governmental sources renders it difficult to present quantitative data on the human rights situation in the Philippines. However, information on recent human rights trends in the country may be gleaned from the Concluding Observations of United Nations treaty monitoring bodies, reports of United Nations Special Rappofteurs, and from the performance of the Philippines in relation to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). At the outset it must be stressed that MDG indicators are but imperfect substitutes (Mudho, 2008) to measure the extent of realization and enjoyment of human rights; nonetheless, they paint some picture, albeit incomplete, of the status of some human rights associated with the MDGs. 6