The 2020 Global Law and Order Report that includes the Philippines in the list of countries with good peace and order and positive perception on the police is due to the aggressive campaign against illegal drugs and pro-active anti-crime strategies that include anti-vagrancy (tambay) operations, a top police official said on Thursday.
Lt. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Elezar, deputy chief for Administration of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said the Philippines has actually the same feat in 2019 when the same Global Law and Order Report also included the country in the list with a high score of 84/100.
“All along, President Duterte was right when he said that the illegal drugs problem is the root cause of most of the crimes in the country. Through (the) aggressive drug war, we were able to reduce the nationwide index crime by 62% in the first 42 months of his administration,” said Eleazar.
Gallup’s Global Law and Order report is a worldwide gauge of people’s sense of personal security and their personal experiences with crime and law enforcement. Those who were surveyed in the Philippines also have positive perceptions of the PNP and other law enforcement agencies.
Eleazar said the 2019 and 2020 Gallup Reports were an improvement of the 2017 and 2018 Reports wherein the Philippines scored 82.
Gallup, in its survey, used the following questions to measure the people’s sense of personal security and their personal experiences with crime and law enforcement:
1. In the city or area where you live, do you have confidence in the police force?
2. Do you feel safe walking alone at night in the city or area where you live?
3. Within the last 12 months, have you had money or property stolen from you or another household member?
4. Within the past 12 months, have you been assaulted or mugged?
Aside from sweeping the streets of drug pushers and users, Eleazar said the improved score of the Philippines in the past two years can also be attributed to the aggressive implementation of local ordinances against those hanging out on the streets especially during nighttime particularly in Metro Manila and other urban areas.
In 2018, President Duterte ordered the PNP to run after the vagrants (so-called tambay)who have been the subject of numerous complaints for street crimes that include snatching, bullying and harassment of women, especially those who work for Business Processing Outsourcing and those who have night shift jobs.
More than 3.6 million violators were apprehended from July 13, 2018 to February 2, 2020. Metro Manila accounted for 1.8 million accosted violators.
“This resulted in the significant decrease of bullying and sexual harassment by neighborhood toughies against workers, especially those who report to work and go home during nighttime,” said Eleazar.
During the first 42 months of the administration of President Duterte, the PNP noted a 62% reduction of index crimes compared to the last 42 months of the past administration, or from 900,200 cases from January 2013 to June 2016 to only 341,232 cases from July 2016 to December 2019.
This is translated to a daily average of 706 cases during the last 42 months of the past administration to only 267 daily average under the Duterte administration.
In Metro Manila, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) recorded a 62% decrease in index crime during the same 42-month period, or from 143,643 cases of Eight Focus Crimes to only 54,977—or from 113 cases daily to only 43 cases per day.
“But we are elated by the result of this survey which was done by an international advisory and analytic company because this serves as an affirmation that our fruits of our sacrifices and hard labor are being felt and appreciated by the people we serve,” he added.
Eleazar said the morale of the PNP and other law enforcement agencies was boosted with the result of the survey.
He also vowed to continue doing more not only to further improve the image of the police force but also to prove to the world that the Philippines is on the right path in making the country a safe to invest and a much better place to live in.