FILE PHOTO Members of the Philippine National Police
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) will take the country’s latest low ranking on the rule of law index as a “challenge” to do more and improve peace and order, national police chief Guillermo Eleazar said on Friday.
“We in the Philippine National Police take note of the report of the World Justice Project (WJP) and consider this as a challenge to do more on our mandate of maintaining peace and order, to further improve our commitment to serve and protect our kababayan, and to strengthen our resolve for the Filipino people to continue to have trust and confidence in our justice system,” Eleazar said in a statement.
The police chief was referring to WPJ’s Rule of Law Index 2021 report where the Philippines ranked 102 out of 139 countries.
Eleazar, however, noted that the WJP data were only collected in three cities in the country—Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao— which is in contrast with the majority of countries with a nationwide scope.
“We still consider the report as a valuable tool to review, assess and make the necessary adjustments since Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao are appropriate representations of the peace and order situation of the country, being the major centers of our economic activities,” he said.
“Our ultimate goal for every Filipino to feel the true sense of security and justice in the country has been a work in progress, and inputs from various institutions that include the WJP are always factored in to rethink and adjust our policies to attain this objective,” he added.
Eleazar also noted that the inputs and feedback from different organization and the PNP’s “sensibility to public opinion” prompted them to expedite the usage of body-worn cameras, opening the documents of questionable police operations in relation to the war on drugs, and quick disciplinary actions on the erring personnel of the police force.
“All these happened in the past few months of this year and we believe that these significant improvements have already made positive impacts on the perception of the Filipino people to their Philippine National Police and to the security and justice in the country,” Eleazar pointed out.
Before President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office in 2015, the country placed 51st and even gained the distinction as the nation with the “most improved” ranking.
However, its ranking has declined consistently during Duterte’s term starting in 2016 when the Philippines ranked 70th, sinking further to 91st in 2020.