MANILA -- The recent survey showing a decrease in the number of families falling victims to crimes is a testament to the merits and sincerity of the government's campaign against crime and illegal drugs, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said Thursday.
"Actually itong crime rate, pababa naman ito pa downtrend na to, although sabi ko nga, di natin (kayang) gawing zero, at least i-minimize natin. Mapababa natin in the whole Philippines. Pababa na in the first two years of the Duterte (These crimes are really on the downtrend. We may not achieve zero crime but we can continue to bring down crime rate in the entire Philippines, as what has been happening in the first two years of the Duterte) administration," PNP Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde told reporters.
Albayalde noted the decrease in crime volume nationwide under the Duterte administration.
"Almost 50 percent ang pagbaba. Meaning, maganda ang programa ng administration na ito (The decline is almost 50 percent. It means the anti-crime program of the administration is good)," Albayalde noted.
The PNP chief added that law enforcement remains focused on illegal drugs and against crimes.
Based on the Social Weather Stations’ (SWS) Second Quarter 2018 Social Weather Survey released on Thursday, 5.3 percent of the respondents, representing 1.2 million families, reported victimization of common crimes within the past six months.
This is 1.3 points lower than 6.6 percent in March 2018, and the lowest since the record-low 3.7 percent in June 2017.
These crimes include pickpocket or theft of personal property, break-ins, car theft, and physical violence. (PNA)
