MANILA, Philippines — The index crime rate across the country has dropped by 61.87 percent since July 2022, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
In a statement released on Tuesday, the PNP said it recorded 83,059 incidents from July 1, 2022, to July 28, 2024, compared to 217,830 incidents reported in the same period from 2016 to 2018.
According to police data, crimes against persons decreased by 55.69 percent, with reductions of 34,966 in physical injury cases, 11,641 in murder cases, 2,719 in rape incidents, and 2,420 in homicides.
The PNP also said it saw a 66.81 percent decline in crimes against property, including robbery, theft, and carnapping, dropping from 124,799 incidents to 41,420 in the same period.
Furthermore, the PNP touted a 27.13 percent increase in crime clearance efficiency and a 10.28 percent increase in crime solution efficiency.
The police force also said its anti-drug campaign yielded P35.6 billion worth of illegal drugs seized and led to the apprehension of 122,309 individuals for drug-related offenses
“These accomplishments highlight the effectiveness of our strategies and reinforce our dedication to combating the illegal drug trade,” the national police force said.
It added, “We continue to implement a balanced approach to law enforcement that combines effective crime prevention with a strong commitment to protecting human rights.”
The PNP released the data a day after former President Rodrigo Duterte, in his first appearance in a congressional inquiry on his administration’s brutal anti-drug campaign, claimed that drug-related crimes in the country were increasing again.
“It is unfortunate that drug-related crimes are on the rise again. Every day, you can read about children being raped, people getting killed and robbed,” Duterte said on Monday.
“Just recently, a drug den was raided within the Malacañang complex. This clearly manifests that the purveyors of this menace are back in business. The Filipinos are anxious and distressed,” the former president added.
Duterte was referring to an October 16 raid by the National Bureau of Investigation on a drug den located 650 meters from Malacañang Palace, according to authorities
READ: Palace, DOJ laud drug den raid, suspect’s arrest near Malacañang
Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Monday also refuted Duterte’s claim, saying that “there is no truth to his statement that crime remains rampant in the country.”
READ: Palace refutes Duterte’s claim that crime remains rampant in PH
Duterte appeared before the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee on Monday as a resource person in its motu proprio investigation into his administration’s bloody war on drugs.
Abalos rebuttal
Former Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr. also countered President Duterte’s assertion that drug-related crimes in the country have risen again.
“I can say that our crime situation has significantly decreased under the Marcos administration. Mayroon tayong datos na magpapatunay diyan (We have data to prove that),” Abalos said in a statement on Tuesday.
The former DILG chief cited data from the Department of Justice, saying 324,368 crimes were tallied from July 1, 2022, to January 31, 2024, while 363,075 crimes were recorded between December 1, 2020 and June 30, 2022.
According to Abalos, the DOJ’s numbers show a 10.66 percent decrease in crime.
‘’Ever since the current administration started, mas nagfocus na tayo sa rehabilitation ng mga drug dependents kaya naman nakita din natin na hindi na rin ganoon kadami ang namamatay sa ating kampanya laban sa ilegal na droga,’’ he added.
(Ever since the current administration started, we have focused more on the rehabilitation of drug dependents. That’s why we saw fewer deaths in our campaign against illegal drugs.)
Abalos was DILG chief under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. from June 30, 2022, to October 7, 2024, when he resigned from the post to run for a senatorial seat in the 2025 midterm elections.
The PNP is an attached agency of the DILG.