President Rodrigo Duterte said he was surprised that the Philippines was included in the world’s 50 safest countries, as reported by analytics company Gallup.
According to the 2020 Gallup Global Law and Order report, the Philippines had an index of 84, just below the United States (85) in the rankings, and on the same level as Australia (84) and New Zealand (84) in terms of how effective law and order is maintained.
During his public address on Thursday night, Duterte said he was surprised when he learned that the Philippines is included in the list.
“I read that in the briefer, and it was – I was really surprised,” he said.
“We are in the Top 50, and we are lumped with countries that are really ideally peaceful,” he added.
Duterte said the government has to credit the law enforcers for maintaining peace and order in the Philippines.
“If it’s a recent survey, it only shows that, well, we have to credit the police and the military and the other uniformed services of the government who toil to make this country at least very peaceful,” he said.
Malacañang also thanked Filipinos for their trust in President Duterte’s commitment to keeping peace and order in the country.
Duterte surprised PH included in 50 safest countries in the world
“Nagpapasalamat po kami sa ating taumbayan at kahit papaano po kinilala po nila ang prayoridad ng ating Pangulo na panatilihin talaga ang peace and order sa ating lipunan (We thank the people for recognizing that the President continues to prioritize peace and other in the society),” Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.
“Itong kompyansa na ibinigay niyo, sa pamamagitan ng survey na ito, ay patunay na patuloy tayong nagsusulong na maibalik talaga ang peace and order sa ating komunidad (This confidence that you showed through this survey is proof that we continue to restore peace and order in the community),” he added.
Gallup said that the latest report on the safest countries offers a baseline for the world’s security in the post-pandemic world and how it moves forward amid global civil unrest related to law enforcement.
The higher the score, the higher the proportion of its population reported feeling safe in their country.