DILG: Crime volume down by 11%

MANILA, Philippines — The crime volume in the country dipped by 11 percent from 488,644 cases from July 2017 to June 2018 to 438,496 cases from July 2018 to June 2019.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the decrease in crime volume, which is on top of the 12,000 villages that are now drug-free, was a result of “participatory governance” or the active collaboration between the government and the local government units (LGUs), citizens, and stakeholders.

“Malaking bahagi kayo sa naging tagumpay ng mas pinaigting na peace and order councils (POCs), anti-drug abuse councils (ADACs) at people’s law enforcement board (PLEB) sa labang tuluyan nang tapusin ang mga problema ng ating lipunan,” he said in a speech during the pre-State of the Nation Address (Sona) forum in Cebu City, a copy of which was sent to the media on Thursday.

(You are a big part of the success of the peace and order councils (POCs), the anti-drug abuse councils, and the People’s Law Enforcement Board (PLEB) in fighting the drug problem.)

“Through our partnerships, we have proven that the government actually walks its talk and our efforts in participatory governance bear fruit and do not fall into the void of empty words and ineffective thrusts,” he said.

During the same period, Año said 172 jail facilities are now drug-free, compared to only 74 in 2018, as the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, an agency under the DILG, intensified its efforts to rid jails of drugs.

He said that more than the number of arrested drug offenders and villages cleared of drugs, the government finds more success in “seeing former pushers and users entrust their future to us through our rehabilitation programs.”

“We wanted to give the 1.3 million drug surrenderers a second chance in life so we took an active stance in the Balay Silangan Program, and institutionalized the Community-Based Drug Rehabilitation Program in all LGUs,” he said. /ee