Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos. —Inquirer file photo
MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos may have sent mixed messages when he reported that the Philippine National Police is “continually improving” in its anti-criminality campaign, citing the swift arrest of four suspects in kidnapping who turned out to be police.
Abalos made the disclosure as he was discussing the latest directives of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. following the PNP command conference in Camp Crame on Wednesday.
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“I was delighted by what the President said that the PNP is really continually improving in terms of its performance. In fact, just this morning, I also reported that we had presented four policemen who were involved in [the] kidnapping of foreigners,” he said.
Abalos made the statement as he sought to underscore the role that the PNP played in bringing down the crime rate in the country.
In its report to President Marcos, the PNP said the number of crimes decreased by 8.3 percent, from 204,557 to 187,652, from July 2022 to May 2023, the same period a year after.
Crime solution efficiency also remained “relatively stable” at the 60 percent mark throughout the nearly two-year period, according to the PNP.
Abalos expressed delight that the four kidnapping suspects, the highest ranking of which was a police major, were arrested in less than 24 hours.
“So if you look at these cases, they were arrested in less than 24 hours. So that is the importance of having policemen on the ground because they can spring into action immediately,” he said.
Abalos even went on to narrate the events of the arrest of the police: “They blocked the van that carried the four foreigners, which the suspects tried to abduct. But two of the suspects managed to run away but were caught in less than 24 hours—I think it’s just 15 hours—the crime was solved right away,” he said.
“Lo and behold, policemen are involved, but we expect to round up more of them,” Abalos added.