PNP disputes PH low ranking in list of safest countries
PHILIPPINE National Police (PNP) data on the country’s crime situation clearly dispute the Global Finance’s ranking of the Philippines at the bottom of the list of the safest countries in the world, PNP chief General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar said on Friday.
“Hindi tumutugma ang aming crime statistics sa ranking na ito. Ang ating mga kasamahan sa media ang mismong makakapagpatunay nito dahil araw-araw kaming naglabas ng crime situation sa ating bansa noong nakaraang taon kung saan makikita ang napakalaking ibinababa ng mga krimen,” the top cop said in a press statement.
He said that since the start of the strict implementation of the community quarantine in March 2020, the Joint Task Force COVID Shield which he used to head when he was still the PNP Deputy Chief for Operations had been releasing crime statistics to show a significant decline in Eight Focus Crimes: murder, homicide, rape, physical injury, robbery, theft, carnapping of motor vehicles and motorcycle theft.
Eleazar said the crime volume declined by half and theft and robbery recorded the most significant decline with more than 60 percent reduction since the start of the pandemic.
It turned out that the Global Finance’s ranking was based on the 2020 reports. Out of 134 countries, the Philippines ranked 134th in the list of the international monthly magazine.
Three factors including war and peace, personal security, and natural disaster risk such as the risk factors from the COVID-19 were considered in making the list, the magazine reported.
However, Eleazar said since natural disasters and personal security are among the factors cited by the magazine aside from peace and order, the effects of the Taal Volcano eruption and other natural disasters that are beyond the control of the government as well as the attacks committed by local terror groups such as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Abu Sayyaf Group and the New People’s Army played a big factor on this ranking.
This is the reason why law enforcers have been aggressive in implementing the “whole-of-government” approach against local terror groups that are mostly based on non-military solutions, he explained.
“Ang peace and order ay isa lamang sa mga factors dahil kasama din sa mga naging basehan ay ang natural disasters at mismong epekto ng COVID-19 sa ating bansa,” Eleazar said.
“Nevertheless, we will take this latest ranking as a challenge to do more in terms of further improving the peace and order security in the country,” he added.
