‘Manila’ in ‘safest cities’ ranking may refer to entire NCR, says MPD chief

The chief of the Manila Police District disputed Manila's bottom placing among the world's safest cities, saying that the survey seems to have based the ranking on the whole of Metro Manila.

“The study was measured based on identified megacities in different parts of the world, so it would appear that it is not only confined to the local government of Manila alone,” MPD director Chief Superintendent Joel Coronel said in a news release.

“So this will include other cities in Metro Manila as well,” he added.

In the latest ranking of the safest cities in the world, research company Economist Intelligence Unit revealed that Manila ranked 55th out of the 60 cities.

An earlier survey rating Manila as a relatively safe place for women also seems to be referring to the metro as a whole instead of just the capital city.

Coronel admitted that the Philippines, as a whole, is poor when it comes to digital security and infrastructure security, two of the four bases of the study. The other two are health and personal safety.

“For the Philippines, that’s why nakakuha tayo ng mababang score is mababa tayo sa digital security,” Coronel said.

“Mahina ang ating security measures against cyber threats and online attacks," he added.

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada defended his city, saying that its crime rate dropped by 38 percent this year, with 3,393 cases so far this year compared to 5,474 in 2016.

Estrada also said the MPD’s crime solution efficiency during the same period improved from 54.8 percent in 2016 to 67.5 percent this year, meaning six to seven out of 10 crimes are solved by the police.

Joining Manila at the bottom 10 are Cairo, Tehran, Quiro, Caracas, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Dhaka, Yangon and Karachi.

Meanwhile, the following are ranked as the safest cities in the world:

• Tokyo
• Singapore
• Osaka
• Toronto
• Melbourne
• Amsterdam
• Sydney
• Stockholm
• Hong Kong
• Zurich

— Anna Felicia Bajo/BM, GMA News