ACCORDING to online user-contributed survey site Numbeo.com, Davao City has been ranked as the second safest city in Southeast Asia.
Based on the Crime Index 2019 Mid-Year of Numbeo, Davao City has a Safety Index rate of 72.50. Davao’s rank rose from last year’s number four with 71.21.
Numbeo describes itself as “the world’s largest database of user-contributed data about cities and countries worldwide,” it gives current information on each city’s cost of living, housing indicators, health care, traffic, crime and pollution.
The data we get here is "user-contributed" which means that anyone can provide them with information on certain aspects of cities or countries. Hence, some information given to them may not be reliable.
In a report by SunStar Davao, Public Safety and Security Command Center (PSSCC) chief Benito de Leon said the ranking is a good indicator of the city's peace and order, incorporated with the current Martial Law implementation in the city.
Dabawenyos were also quite happy with the recent results from the online survey. As of the writing of this editorial, the link shared on the SunStar Davao has garnered 606 reactions, 315 shares, and 27 comments.
While we may feel happy for this recognition, we still have to question the safety ranking of Numbeo.
Based on our police reports, there are still some crimes happening around the city. For example, a student was killed inside her room on August 1. Then on Saturday, a former barangay captain of Barangay Communal, Buhangin District, Davao City was killed in front of Buhangin Gallery. Last month a stepfather raped his stepdaughter in Buhangin.
Davao City is still generally safe compared to other cities in the Philippines. However, there are still these incidents that are happening around us.
The authorities will still have to work double-time to ensure that Davao is truly safe. For now, it is still reassuring to know that crime rates in the city have dropped since 2015.
Data and information from the authorities or city officials are still the best in determining the safety situation in the city. It was reported earlier that the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) recorded a 66 percent decrease in crime rate for a period of four years in Davao City at 2,311 in the first half of 2019 as compared to the first semester of 2015 with 6,869 crime volume.
DCPO record also showed that from January to June in 2015, the crime volume reached to 6,869; 2016 (5,960); 2017 (4,278); 2018 (2,674); and for 2019 (2,311).