Palace on PH as least safest country: We are optimistic things would be better

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — After the Philippines ranked last out of 134 countries on a list of the world’s safest countries this 2021, Malacañang said on Friday it is “optimistic that things would be better.”

In Global Finance’s ranking of the world’s safest countries, the Philippines was again at the bottom of its list just like in the magazine’s 2019 list, which then evaluated 128 nations.

The magazine said it considered three fundamental factors to determine the countries’ safety scores — war and peace, personal security, and natural disaster risk, including factors stemming from the COVID-19.

READ: PH ranks last in Global Finance’s list of world’s 134 safest countries

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said that while the Philippines is prone to natural hazards due to its geographical location and climate change, the country’s disaster management system continues to improve.

He pointed out that Filipinos are growing “more resilient and adaptive.”

Further, the Philippines is not at war and it saw a “significant decline” in crimes since the start of strict implementation of quarantine restrictions due to the pandemic, he added.

On the country’s COVID-19 situation, Roque likewise cited a survey that showed 86% of Filipinos were satisfied with how the Duterte administration handled the pandemic.

He also said the country is “on track” in achieving its target population protection in Metro Manila and surrounding provinces by November this year as long as the vaccine supply remains stable.

Lastly, he noted that the country’s COVID-19 mortality rate remains 1.76%, which is one of the lowest among pandemic-hit nations.

“We are therefore optimistic that things would be better with more and more people get vaccinated, coupled with our strict implementation of Prevention-Detection-Isolation-Treatment-and Reintegration (PDITR) Strategy,” he said in a statement.

abc