Safety in the Philippines at par with South Korea, Australia, research firm says

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines maintained its ranking in the upper half of the research firm Gallup’s 2018 Global Law and Order report, which determines people’s sense of personal security and experience with crime and law enforcement.

The Gallup report assigned the Philippines an index score of 82, the same score it got last year.

The country is at par with Croatia, Poland, Israel, Mauritius, Bangladesh, Serbia, Australia, South Korea, Romania, Iran and Sri Lanka.

This, despite the thousands of alleged extrajudicial killings linked to the government’s brutal drug war.

According to the latest government data, there were 4,279 alleged drug dealers and users who had died since the start of the government’s ferocious anti-narcotics campaign. This is significantly lower than the estimate of human rights groups at more than 12,000 drug personalities dead.

In the 2016 report, the Philippines garnered an index score of 76.             

Malacañang on Monday welcomed the Gallup report. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the results show that Filipinos feel safe under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte.

In the Global Peace Index 2018 released last week, the Philippines was considered one of the least peaceful countries in the world after ranking 137^th out of the 163 nations.

READ: Philippines remains among ‘least peaceful’ countries, study says

Singaporeans feel safest; Venezuelans least likely to feel safe

Singapore recorded the highest index score of 97, retaining its position at the top. The 2018 report also found out that 94 percent of Singaporeans feel safe walking alone at night.

Following the Philippines’ Southeast Asian neighbor were Norway, Iceland and Finland—all having an index score of 93.

Venezuela, on the other hand, remained at the bottom of the list with a law and order index score of 44.

The report also showed that residents of the United States and Canada, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Western Europe are the most likely to feel secure.

The Latin America and the Caribbean were identified as the regions in the world with the lowest score on security.

Gallup interviewed more than 148,000 adults in 142 countries and areas in 2017.

It asked four questions to gauge people’s sense of personal security and experiences with crime and law enforcement:

• In the city or area where you live, do you have confidence in the local police force?
• Do you feel safe walking alone at night in the city or area where you live?
• Within the last 12 months, have you had money or property stolen from you or another household member?
• Within the past 12 months, have you been assaulted or mugged?