Col. Ramon Pranada, chief of the Regional Operations Division of the NCRPO, presented the statistics above during the meeting of the Metro Manila Regional Peace and Order Council in Pasig City on Monday, Sept. 30, 2019. (Photo by CATHRINE GONZALES / INQUIRER.net)
MANILA, Philippines — The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) has recorded a significant 62% decrease in the number of index crime incidents during the first three years and three months of the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte than in the same period before his predecessor, Benigno Aquino III, ended his term.
Col. Ramon Pranada, chief of the Regional Operations Division of the NCRPO, presented the data on index crimes, or crimes against persons and properties, recorded in Metro Manila during the meeting of the Regional Peace and Order Council in Pasig City on Monday.
Police records show that crimes against persons, such as murder, homicide, physical injury, and rape, was at 18,184 from July 2016 — a day after President Rodrigo Duterte took oath of his office — until Sept. 26, 2019.
This is lower by 17,652 incidents or a 49% decrease than the 35,836 crimes against persons recorded from April 2013 until June 2016 under the Aquino administration, according to NCRPO. Both periods cover 39 months.
But murder cases alone soared by 60% from 2,682 incidents during the Aquino administration to 4,295 cases during the Duterte administration.
READ: Murder cases up in Metro Manila under Duterte admin
NCRPO director Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar explained the increase was triggered by the rise of murder incidents during President Duterte’s first few months in office.
Eleazar blamed this on drug syndicates allegedly purging their own. He said murder cases in Metro Manila had steadily dropped since 2017.
“We have reports and information that they were the ones killing each other. And even scalawag police personnel, they themselves were involved here,” he said, speaking partly in Filipino, in an interview with reporters.
Meanwhile, crimes against properties — such as robbery, theft, and carnapping — were down by 64,352 incidents from 96,003 under the Aquino administration to 31,651 under Duterte, or a 67% drop.
Eleazar attributed the lower number of index crime incidents to the intensified campaign against illegal drugs and strict enforcement of city ordinances.
“Most of the crimes being committed are associated or are with the involvement of illegal drugs. That’s where we focused,” he said.
/atm