Philippine National Police at Camp Crame, Quezon City. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
Despite the brazen murder of Tanauan City Mayor Antonio Halili as well as the spate of killings of other local officials and priests, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Tuesday that the country’s peace and order situation has improved.
PNP spokesperson Sr. Supt. Benigno said that while there are incidents of killings, it would also be proper for the public to determine how far peace and order situation in the country has imrpoved by looking at objective data.
“Alam po natin kahit na ito ay mga isa, dalawa, tatlo na insidente sa pagpaslang, siguro po tingnan din natin [ang crime rate] base po sa mga objective na datos,” noted Durana in an interview with DZMM on Tuesday.
(We know that even if this is one, two or three killing incidents, maybe we should also look at [the crime rate] based on objective data.)
“So, nag-iimprove po ang ating crime situation po sa ating bansa (So, the crime situation in our country is improving)” he added.
In an interview with INQUIRER.net, Durana cited two separate surveys that showed crime rate in the country has decreased while law and order progressed.
First was a Pulse Asia survey, which indicated that crime rate went down by 1 percentage point from 7.6 percent in January to June 2017 to 6.6 percent in the same period this year, according to Durana.
Second was the 2018 Gallup survey on peace and order, which Durana said has indicated that the “sense of security in our country is already comparable to Australia and South Korea. These are developed countries.”
“The anti-crime strategy of the Philippine National Police is working. And it is gaining commendable results. Yes, of course, we have to listen to other opinions and suggestions,” Durana stressed.
“We are listening to these suggestions because we are continuously tuning in to our strategies to make sure we can gain from our successes and learn from our challenges so that we can make sure we can effectively maintain peace and order in our society,” he added.
Durana condemned the recent killings and assured those acts are not condoned by the PNP, which treat such cases with utmost priority.
As for Halili’s case, Durana said: “We are not resting. Our investigators are not resting (to solve the case).”
Durana said the PNP is set to hold a command conference on Wednesday to discuss Halili’s case, among others. /kga