Filipinos Feel Safer Under Duterte Administration

DO YOU FEEL SAFER? Despite the fear revolving around President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against crime and illegal drugs, Filipinos feel much safer now compared to 2014, according to the recently released Gallup 2018 Global Law and Order report.

Based on the report, the Philippines has a Law and Order Index Score of 82, which is up from 76 in 2014 and is above the average score for East Asia, which is 72.

148,000 responses in 142 countries were collected based on how safe its citizens feel walking alone at night in their cities or areas where they live.

The rising Global Law and Order score of the country is a welcome development to the Duterte administration that’s been criticized for its war on drugs. Law and order is crucial in helping developing market economies to run smoothly and sustain economic growth.

The Philippines’ economic growth has annual rate of 6.8% year-on-year in the March quarter of 2018, which is well above the Philippines’ long-term growth rates and was matched only by China.

The country’s GDP annual growth rate from 1982 until 2017 averaged 3.68%. The all-time high was in the fourth quarter of 1988 with 12.40% while the record low was in the first quarter of 1985 with -10.10%, according to Tradingeconomics.com.

Filipinos also feel better off today compared to a couple of years ago, according to another Gallup survey. The report finds that 28% of Filipinos consider themselves thriving in 2017, higher when compared to 26% in 2016. This also pushed the Philippines up a notch in the ranking among Asia-Pacific countries.

Whether you agree with Duterte’s hard tactics or not, numbers don’t lie: many Filipinos believe they are better off and feel safer under his administration.

via Forbes / Panos Mourdoukoutas