MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has moved a step higher in the global ranking of passports based on the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa requirement, according to a global report on Tuesday.

According to the 2020 Henley Passport Index, the Philippines is now in the 76th spot.

This is a notch higher than its 2019 ranking at 77th.

Philippine passport holders can travel to 67 destinations even without visa, according to the index.

Japan topped the ranking having 191 destinations accessible to its passport holders, followed by   Southeast Asian country like the Philippines, Singapore, having 190 destinations.

Germany took the third spot with 189 accessible destinations, the report said.

Meanwhile, at  4 notches below investment grade, the Philippines  is most underrated country.

Some of the neighbor countries of the Philippines in the Southeast Asia performed better in the ranking such as Malaysia at 13th spot, Brunei at 23rd, Timor Leste at 57th, Thailand at 65th, and Indonesia at 72nd.

Most war-torn countries Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan fell at the bottom of the ranking.

Aside from the continuous research by the Henley & Partners Research Department, the passport index was based on the data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The IATA maintains the world’s largest and most accurate database of travel information. (STACY ANG/JGo/CurrentPH)