MANILA -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Monday assured its unwavering commitment to continue curbing crimes in the country, encouraged by the decline in crime volume in the two years of President Rodrigo Duterte's administration.
In a statement, PNP Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde said the first two years of the Duterte administration, from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2018, have seen the country’s two-year total crime volume dipping 20.4 percent from the previous two-year total.
The trend of index crime, meanwhile, plunged 46.95 percent to only 212,773 incidents from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2018 from a high of 401,112 incidents recorded in the previous two-year period.
Albayalde noted that index crimes, crimes against persons and property, are the focus of the “Enhanced Managing Police Operations” strategy of the PNP because these are the more serious crimes that affect people’s lives.
The PNP is confident that the significant decline in the crime rate achieved in the first two years of the Duterte administration would be sustained with its intensified campaign against illegal drugs and all forms of crime and illegal activities.
“The campaign will be more effective in the next year or so if it will be complemented by our internal cleansing program and an enhanced engagement with all community stakeholders to draw their suggestions, cooperation and support on how we can best win our war on illegal drugs and criminality,” the PNP chief said.
Crimes against persons were posted at an all-time low of 99,773 incidents from July 2016 to June 2018, or 30.42 percent lower than the 143,385 incidents recorded in the same period from 2014 to 2016. A similar decline of 56.16 percent in crimes against property was also noted with significant double-digit rates of reduction in robbery (52.12 percent), theft (58.50 percent), and car theft (50.10 percent), and a steady downtrend over the past five years.
In his own assessment, Albayalde attributed the considerable success of the anti-crime drive to the gains posted in the anti-drug campaign.
The PNP noted that recently, the 2018 Gallup Global Law and Order Report ranked the Philippines in the upper half of 142 countries in terms of people’s sense of security and experience with crime.
This places the country at par with countries like Croatia, Israel, Australia and South Korea. The study sought to determine whether its 148,000 respondents trust their local police and feel safe walking alone at night in the area where they live. Respondents were also asked whether they experienced being assaulted or losing property in the past 12 months.
The Gallup survey gave the Philippines a score of 82, an improvement from the 76 it obtained in 2016 and higher than the average score of 72 for East Asia.
Albayalde assured the public that the country’s peace and order situation will remain manageable due to its two-pronged approach: effective delivery of public safety services through the Enhanced Managing Police Operations and the PNP’s internal cleansing program, and improved community relations through constant dialogues, consultations and strategic partnerships with multi-sectoral groups.
“To sustain these early gains, I have instructed all concerned Directorates of the PNP to improve our operations given the recent COA directive in maximizing our agency’s resources. I have also been directly overseeing our Internal Cleansing Program – an initiative that seeks to hold erring cops accountable for their actions,” he said.
Albayalde also said the PNP could not ensure sustained peace and order without the support of the community.
“Despite our success, we should do more to make sure that a stable peace and order should be directly felt and experienced by all Filipinos. Going forward, we need to reach out some more to community stakeholders, such as members of the Church, the private sector, NGOs and the academe on the best way to win the war on drugs and criminality. The war on drugs and criminality can only be won through constant consultations and collaboration with all stakeholders in the community,” he added. (PNA)
