Duterte surprised PH made it to top 50 safest countries
President Duterte admitted he was surprised when he learned that the Philippines was included in the world's 50 safest countries based on analytics company Gallup's recent report.
Duterte made the statement after the Philippines was listed as 12th among the 50 safest countries in the world based on Gallup's 2020 Global Law and Order Report.
In his public address on Thursday evening, Duterte said he was surprised when he read in his daily briefer about the Philippines being 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.
According to Duterte, the government has to credit the law enforcers for keeping peace and order in the country.
“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.
Based on Gallup's report, the Philippines got a score of 84, an improvement from the 82 it got last year. It tied with Australia, New Zealand, and Serbia.
Gallup based its scores on the answers of nearly 175,000 adults in 144 countries and areas in 2019.
The respondents were asked to answer four questions about their confidence in the police force, safety when walking alone at night, stolen money or property from the household in the past 12 months, and being assaulted or mugged in the past 12 months.
Malacañang thanked Filipinos for their confidence in President Duterte's commitment to maintaining peace and order in the country.
“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.
Topping Gallup's list was Singapore with a global index score of 97.
Other Southeast Asian countries that made the Top 50 are Indonesia, 89 points; Vietnam, 86 points; Malaysia, 83 points; and Myanmar, 82 points.