Davao, Philippines ranked as 4th safest in 349 cities in the World over Seoul Korea and Hongkong

Screen captured from Numbeo.com website 

DAVAO -- The city of Davao ranked fourth as the world's safest place, according to website Numbeo.com.

Out of 349 entries, Davao City is the only metropolis in the Philippines that made it to the top 10. It has a crime index of 13.27 and safety index of 86.73.

Makati landed at 20th place with a crime index of 18.75 and safety index of 81.25.

The only other cities listed from the Philippines are: Manila with a crime index of 64.54 and safety index of 35.46, and Cebu with a crime index of 46.88 and safety index of 53.12.

According to the website, safety index is, on the other way, quite opposite of crime index. If the city has a high safety index, it is considered very safe.

It said that it is 93.75 percent safe to walk alone during daylight in Davao, while 76.69 percent safe to walk alone during night.

"These data are based on perceptions of visitors of this website in the past two years. If value is 0, it means it is perceived as very low, and if value is 100, it means it is perceived as very high," the website said.

With regard the crime index of 18.75, the website explained, the issue with the highest rate is the problem on corruption and bribery with 31.67, followed by "worries things from car stolen" with 29.69, then "worries home broken and things stolen" with 26.56.

The issue with the least crime rate is "worries being subject to a physical attack because of your skin color, ethnic origin or religion" with 6.67.

Treat with caution

The source Numbeo claims to be the world's largest database of user contributed data about cities and countries worldwide.

It provides current and timely information on world living conditions including cost of living, housing indicators, health care, traffic, crime and pollution.

But it gathers data through user input, thus although it is popularly consulted as source for cost of living, its data have to be addressed with caution.

User input can skew data and will not reflect the whole picture, especially from places where there is not much available data. It cannot also be ascertained where and how the numbers can be verified.

The crime and safety indexes were published online at http://www.numbeo.com/crime/rankings_current.jsp around 11 p.m. of August 8.

The website also said that Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates placed first among the safest place with a safety index rate of 90.47, then Lugano, Switzerland (90.16), and third is Marbella, Spain (88.78).

Fifth is Taipei, Taiwan (86.26); next is Munich, Germany (86.06); Quebec City, Canada (85.55) ranked seventh; then Hong Kong, Hong Kong (85.51) as eighth; Seoul, South Korea (84.28) on ninth place; and Bern, Switzerland (84.24) as tenth.

Netizens happy

Netizens all over the country lauded the result posted online.

Chris Ryl said: "Akalain mo ba naman nasa Mindanao yun pa ang mas least of crime rate sa Pilipinas! at tumatak pa sa buong mundo... GO DAVAO!!!"

"Wow congrats. Ipahiram nyo po ang DDS sa Maynila pra maubos mga kriminal dun," netizen Kenneth G. Taningco said.

Some netizens also attributed the result to Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, the city's executive chief for an unprecedented seventh term.

"Kung ganyan katapang ni mayor ng Davao ang nag papatakbo ng Pinas at pinapairal ang disiplina at batas, talagang my takot ang mga mokong gumawa ng kalokohan. Mabuhay ka mayor Doterte. Lagi mo akong kasangga sa ganyang prinsipyo," netizen Al Dallu said.

Edmund Moonraker said, "Thumbs up!! po ako kay Mayor Rudy R. Duterte. Maganda po ang kanyang pagdala ng Davao City. Mabuhay po kayo Mayor Duterte puwedi na po kayong tumakbo ng presidente sa 2016."

"Duterte for president!" Jevy Carretero Ramos said.

With report from (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)

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Philippines open troops Talks on Expanding Washington Access to Military Bases

Philippine officials said it is seeking fresh talks with the United States on expanding U.S. access to its military bases, as tensions with China rise over competing territorial claims in the South China Sea and the West Philippines Sea.

In a joint letter to Philippine lawmakers, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the talks will focus on "a possible framework agreement" for "an increased [U.S.] rotational presence." the secretaries of national defense and foreign affairs said that allowing American troops to have an "increased rotational presence" will help the country attain a "minimum credible defense" to guard its territory while it struggles to modernize its own military, one of Asia's weakest.

A larger American presence would also mean more resources and training for responding to disasters in a nation often battered by typhoons and earthquakes, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said in their letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday.

U.S. officials had not confirmed any talks, but said a framework agreement would increase opportunities for joint military training and exercises that could include other regional partners.

Manila's push to bolster its defenses comes as China presses maritime claims to most of the mineral and energy-rich South China Sea and West Philippine Sea. For their part, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei are seeking to defend their sea borders against what those governments see as Chinese naval and fishing intrusions.

The realignment of American forces in the Asia-Pacific also involves the deployment of up to 2,500 U.S. Marines in northern Australia and the stationing of U.S. combat vessels in Singapore.

Gazmin has said that additional American troops would only be allowed to have access to the country's existing military bases under terms the Philippines would negotiate with the U.S. government. The two sides would have to negotiate the length of any agreement allowing more U.S. troops, planes, ships and other equipment.

Under the current Visiting Forces Agreement, hundreds of American counterterrorism troops have been allowed to stay in the Philippines' volatile southern Mindanao region since 2002 to train Filipino soldiers battling al-Qaida-linked Abu Sayyaf militants and a handful of foreign terrorist suspects from Indonesia and Malaysia.

Gazmin and del Rosario stressed in their letter the importance of the Philippines' decades-old military alliance with the United States, saying "this relationship is useful not only in our diplomacy but also in enhancing our capabilities at the vital task of territorial defense."

The Philippines has reached out to the United States for help in modernizing its outdated fleet of warships and planes and in training its troops amid renewed tensions over the long-running territorial disputes with China.

President Benigno Aquino III said last month that foreign troops, if given access to local military camps, would not become a "permanent fixture." He stressed that while such an arrangement would allow the country to better prepare for any security contingency, the Philippines as a matter of policy renounces war and chooses diplomacy to resolve territorial claims.

Confrontations involving Chinese patrol ships and vessels from the Philippines and Vietnam over disputed islands and reefs have raised tensions in the potentially oil- and gas-rich waters.

China claims much of the South China Sea on historical grounds. The Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan have rejected Beijing's massive claims, sparking fears the disputes might turn violent and set off an armed conflict.

Confidential Philippine military surveillance reports seen by the AP said that 61 Chinese vessels were sighted in Manila-claimed areas of the disputed Spratly Islands from July 4 to 10. China has also turned Mischief Reef, which it occupied in 1995 amid protests from Manila, into a logistical base to help Chinese ships better patrol the seas.

China has also erected two concrete posts at the narrow entrance of a vast lagoon to erect a rope barrier and better control entry into Scarborough Shoal, a rich fishing ground which came under Beijing's control after Philippine ships backed off from a tense face-off last year.

Earlier this week, the Philippines took formal possession of a refurbished former U.S. Coast Guard cutter obtained under a bilateral military alliance with Washington. The vessel joins another former U.S. cutter recommissioned by the Philippines in 2011.

Vietnam has also welcomed closer military ties with the United States, and has allowed U.S. Navy supply ships to dock for repairs and maintenance in recent years.

Rumors swirled this week in official Vietnamese media that the United States was considering suspending a ban on the export of lethal weapons to the Hanoi government.

However, there has been no official confirmation of those deliberations. Analysts have cautioned against expecting any such concessions from Washington without evidence of significant improvement in Vietnam's human rights record.

With report from Associated Press  and  Voice of America

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FIBA: 5 times Champion Philippines’ recent victories over Kazakhstan and Korea defeated by 3 times champion Iran for gold

Iran players celebrate after winning the 27th FIBA Asian Men's Basketball Championship in Manila yesterday.

Iran routed the Philippines 85-71 to bag gold at the 27th FIBA Asian men's basketball championship yesterday, powered by NBA centre Hamed Haddadi.

The seven-foot two-inch Haddadi was simply too much inside the paint for the Philippine side, scoring 29 points to lead all players.

Haddadi, the first Iran-born player in the US National Basketball Association, also grabbed 16 rebounds as he towered over his opponents. The speedy Filipinos made a valiant effort, and were playing without injured centre Marcus Douthit.

It was Iran's third gold at the Asian championship. The Philippines are five-times champions, though their last victory came back in 1985.

Iran, the Philippines and third-placed South Korea, who lost to the Philippines in the semis, will go to the FIBA world championships in Spain next year.

The Philippines trailed by as much as nine points before clawing back to 34-35 at half time led by point guard Jayson William.

The home team played in front of a crowd of about 20,000, with President Benigno Aquino and other top government officials at courtside to cheer them on.

The raucous fans however were silenced as Haddadi repeatedly clobbered them inside the paint with his low post play and put backs.

China beat Qatar

China ended their campaign with a 96-85 victory over Qatar, finishing fifth. The only chance for the former Asian Champion to play in next year's Basketball World Cup in Spain is a wildcard awarded by FIBA.

"We wanted to play the final so it's not good for us to play this match," said Panagiotis Giannakis, head coach of China. "But I think we learnt many things from this tournament. We have the opportunity to become stronger in the future."

A 13-0 run in the beginning of the second half helped China to enlarge their lead, which was only five points by halftime. The 15-time Asian Champion never let the match slip away from their hands from then on.

It was a tight game at the start of the first, with Wang Zhizhi building a three-point lead off a Yi Jianlian assist with six minutes and 20 seconds remaining, 9-6.

But Mohammed Saleem Abdullah and Mansour Elhadary then went on a 7-0 run for Qatar, building one-point lead after the first quarter. Wang Zhizhi then anchored a 15-4 run to start the second period.

Qatar responded with a 15-5 run to tie the game at 40-all.Wang Shipeng and Zhu Fangyu had the last say in the second, giving China a 45-40 lead at the half.

Guo Ailun led China with 21 points and five assists. Veteran Wang Zhizhi finished his last Asian Championship game with a 13-point and 11-rebound double-double.

Yi Jianlian took 12 while Wang Shipeng and Zhufangyu combined for 24. China suffered a shocking loss to Chinese Taipei in Friday's quarter-finals, leading them to their second worst result in Asian Championships.

"We need to summarize after returning back to China," said Yi. "Not only today's match. Not only this tournament. It's for a long time."

"During the tournament we didn't improve as I wanted," said Giannakis. "We lost our concentrations sometimes and we lost the chance to the final. But I think we will become smarter with more experiences."

INQUIRER & Gulf Times

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